


On Trial

by Flossy2003



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: 19th century mental health therapy (TW), Anxiety (TW), Depression (TW), F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mental health (TW), Needles (TW), PTSD (TW), Possible self-harm references in later chapters (TW)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 25,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25512745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flossy2003/pseuds/Flossy2003
Summary: Cassandra has been placed in a room, awaiting trial for her crimes, however, not everything is as it seems.Originally posted on WattPad 🤗
Relationships: Captain of Corona's Guard & Cassandra (Disney), Cassandra & Arianna, Cassandra & Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider (Disney), Cassandra & Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Rapunzel, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Comments: 505
Kudos: 141





	1. The Room

Cassandra, was sitting on a wooden chair in the castle's intimidation room, her cheeks were damp with tears, her stomach was tangled in complicated knots and her body was shaking all over. 

She didn't know what was going to happen to her. 

She could be imprisoned.....no, banished......or even, executed. It frightened her, but she knew that she deserved everything she had coming to her. She had done terrible, terrible things and needed a punishment. 

"I can't describe how truly sorry I am, your Majesty. I was despicable, my actions were awful and you don't have to forgive me, I don't think I'd be able to forgive me, either." 

"That won't cut it!" Fredric yelled, "you put as all in danger! You could've got us killed! You teamed up with a demon! Don't you understand how serious this is, you stupid girl?!" 

Cassandra didn't know what to say. She couldn't meet the King's eyes, absolutely ashamed.

Everything was all her fault. 

Yes, she had been manipulated by an evil demon, who she let get into her head and mess around with it. True, she didn't know that she was a demon for a long time, she just assumed that she was some kind of spirit, who was trying to help her, but she had still listened to her and hurt so many in the process, including her own family and friends. 

"Until we think of a harsh enough punishment for you, " the King boomed, catching her attention, "you are to stay in solitary confinement, in one of the trial rooms, near the dungeons. You are to not speak to anyone, is that understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Cassandra practically whispered, her head low. 

"Come on, then." Stan instructed, gesturing for her to stand. He took her right arm, Pete took her left and lead out of the room. 

Pete opened a wooden door, that lead to a dark cupboard-like room, with a small bed and a chamber pot inside it. 

"In here," Stan said, sternly. 

Cassandra walked in, clutching herself to protect her skin from the chilly drafts. 

The door closed and then she heard the sound of the key turning in the lock, leaving her alone. 

There wasn't even a window. It was totally dark, save for the few pinpricks from underneath the door. 

She perched herself on the edge of the bed, tucking her knees into her chest. She felt like crying again, despite her banging headache and sore eyes. 

She had no idea what was in store for her. 

She would just have to wait and see. 

The night had been long and difficult. She kept getting awoken by nightmares. Some about what she'd done, some about Zhan-Tiri and some about what was going to happen to her. 

She had screamed, cried and even hyperventilated at one point, but the guards outside her door, either hadn't noticed or didn't care. She assumed the latter. 

Her ears pricked up, when a key jingled in the lock. 

The door swung open and a guard walked in with a tray of food and a cup of water. 

"We heard you last night," he said, resting the victuals on the bed, beside her, "don't try screaming for help. No one cares, no one will let you out." 

"I wasn't..." 

"You're not allowed to speak. Do so again and I'll assure that your situation will get much worse."

He left, slamming the door before he locked it. 

Cassandra looked over at the meal next to her. 

Gruel and water. 

Her stomach was churning too much for her to even want to look at it, let alone eat it. 

She lay the tray on the floor and curled up on the bed, attempting to catch up on her missed sleep.

It was very hard. 

"Please, dad, let me see her," Rapunzel begged, "please!" 

Eugene hugged her close, a frown on his face. 

"Rapunzel, she is dangerous!" 

"She isn't! She's not under the control of Zhan-Tiri or the moonstone anymore. Please, just let me talk to her!" 

Arianna gave Fredric a fowl glare. 

"I know that Cassandra's actions were awful and I am not at all excusing them, but you have to remember that she is and probably always has been, a scared, broken girl, underneath her exterior. Isolating and not allowing her to get the help she needs, is only going to make things worse. Remember what happened to Varian?" 

Fredric was stunned into silence, his eyes wide. 

"I...I'll take your suggestions under advisement, Arianna." 

Before Arianna could open her mouth to say something, Fredric walked out of the room. 

"Don't worry, Rapunzel, we're not going to give up on her, we will get her help, what happened with Varian will not be repeated." Eugene said, softly. 

"I'll make sure of it," Arianna said, her voice sterner than Rapunzel had ever heard it. 

The Queen enveloped her daughter into a hug, giving her a small kiss on the forehead. 

"Of course you can see Cassandra, I think she really needs you, right now." 

"You're to let me in, to see Cassandra, Queen's orders." 

"Fine," the guard outside Cassandra's prison replied, "but she isn't permitted to speak, by order of the King." 

"We'll see about that," Eugene muttered, as the door was unlocked. 

The room was so dark, that they could just about see Cassandra's teary, hazel eyes, gazing at them. 

"Cassandra!" Rapunzel yelled, as Eugene lit an oil lamp. 

Cassandra didn't reply, but gave the Princess a tiny smile, as she was clasped in a bone-crushing hug. 

"I'll give you some privacy," the guard said, closing the door. Or at least, they thought he did. They didn't know that he had left it, slightly ajar. 

The first thing Rapunzel noticed, was the tray of abandoned food. She bent down and picked it up. 

"You need to eat, Cass," she said, softly. 

Cassandra shook her head. 

"I can't." She whispered.

"You have to, you need to keep your strength up." Rapunzel said, spooning up the gruel and waving it in front of her friend's face. 

Cassandra gingerly took the spoon and reluctantly placed it between her lips. The taste and texture was making her feel sicker than she already felt. 

"Come on, just a bit more." Rapunzel said, stroking her friend's arm. 

"Please Raps, I can't. I can't eat anymore." 

"Just promise me, that you'll drink the water, ok?" Rapunzel asked.

Cassandra nodded again, taking the cup and sipping gently. 

"That's it," Rapunzel encouraged. 

"You'll be ok, Cass, I promise, you won't be in here long." 

If only Eugene's promise could be kept. 

Once Eugene and Rapunzel had left, Cass felt slightly better, only slightly though. She had only been able to whisper to them, in a few broken sentences, so there hadn't been much conversation. 

"I heard you talk to them." The guard, who had allowed her guests in, growled, "you're not allowed to talk, to anyone." 

He sauntered over to her and stroked her cheek. When she was younger and when she had the moonstone, she would've probably bitten his hand off, but now after everything that had happened and because of everything that was happening, she just shivered, remaining silent. 

"Imagine what the King would do to you if he found out that you'd disobeyed him? Maybe he'll arrange someone to cut out that tongue of yours, that ought to keep you quiet." 

His hand withdrew from her shaking skin and he turned his back to her, strolling towards the door. 

"I would follow the rules , if I were you. I wouldn't want any damage on your pretty little face."

The door locked and Cassandra's felt even more nauseous than ever before.


	2. Force

Cassandra gazed into the pitch black. All she could hear was the sound of her own breathing. 

She was bored out of her mind, most of the time, sick of the dark, desperate to see the light again. 

She wasn't sure how long she'd been in there, she'd lost track of time. She didn't know if it was day or night or if it was Monday or Tuesday. It didn’t help that her meal times were so inconsistent, either. Sometimes she would only get one meal a day, because the guard “forgot” when he was supposed to bring her the other two. 

Not that she really felt like eating. Only one spoonful of gruel and two teeny nibbles of stale bread, were all she could manage. 

“You need to eat,” the guard grumbled, one morning, or maybe it was evening? 

Cassandra grimaced and gently pushed the tray away, shaking her head,trying to show him that she wasn’t hungry. 

“If you don’t eat you’ll get sick.” 

“I’m already sick,” Cassandra thought, “sick of you.”

The guard gave her a harsh glare, as if he’d read her mind. 

“His Majesty wants you alive for your trial, so start eating!” 

Cassandra frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. 

She peered at the bowl of gruel, with the spoon, floating on its surface.  
Her hands were clammy, at the thought of eating anything, let alone that. It made her feel queasy.

The guard sighed in frustration, coming to the conclusion that she wasn’t going to touch it, no matter how much he tried to intimidate her. 

“Fine,” he growled, snatching the tray from beside the prisoner, “let’s just see what King Fredric has to say about all of this.” 

He gave her cruel smile as he walked towards the door. 

“Don’t go anywhere.” He smirked. He was relishing in the fact that she was prohibited to reply. 

“She's not eating. She hasn't been for the last week." 

Fredric looked up to acknowledge the guard, in front of him. 

"We'll send a Doctor in if necessary, but I think she's just trying to draw attention to herself. Again," Fredric muttered, folding his arms. 

“I do too, Your Majesty. I think she’s trying to play the sympathy card.” 

Fredric nodded, in agreement, furrowing his brow.

“Well if she won’t eat, then we’ll just have to make her.” 

Strong hands gripped her shoulders, arms, legs, head, everywhere, holding her down, as spoonfuls of soggy mush were shoved into her mouth. 

The whole time, her guard loomed in the doorway, waiting until the process was over, so that he could taunt his prisoner. Cassandra could just about see his glowing yellowish eyes in the midst of the darkness. 

Once they were done, they would leave her, curled up in a ball, feeling like every bit of her dignity had been stripped away and taken out of reach. The whole thing made her feel sicker than ever. 

Only a few hours would go by, before she would have to endure the same humiliating practice, all over again. She never thought that she would dread eating, of all things. 

When she went to sleep, later in the day, she had buried her face in her pillow, so that the guard wouldn’t hear her cry. 

But he did and he did so with a smile. 

It wasn’t long before the King’s proposition reached Eugene’s ears and he felt his blood scorch.

“I know that she needs to eat, but you didn’t have to resort to force-feeding!” He bellowed, his shouts echoing around the throne room, “she’s only been in there a few days, you should’ve given her more time to adjust, not have her held down by people she doesn’t trust, while gunk gets sent down her throat!” 

The King stared down at his future son-in-law, dumbfounded, but angry. 

“She’s doesn’t need time to adjust to anything, the only reason why she wasn’t eating because she wanted attention! That’s all that girl has ever wanted!” 

Eugene saw red. 

“Yes, she has always wanted attention, so what? What do you expect from a girl who watched her own mother, abandon her for another child, your child?!” He yelled, “what do you expect from a girl who’s skills she worked hard to perfect, since she was only six years old, were overlooked entirely, in favour of making her exactly what her abusive mother wanted her to be, a servant?!” 

Fredric was speechless. 

Good.

“Yes Cass has always wanted attention, but not unhealthy attention, she would never try to gain sympathy and you know that! Stop constraining her and leave her alone! She’ll eat when she’s ready!” 

“ENOUGH!” Fredric roared. 

Eugene stood there, not even startled, hissing through clenched teeth, his fists balled-up tightly. 

“I will take your suggestions under advisement, Captain,” The monarch breathed, “you are dismissed.” 

Eugene stood there for a moment, still enraged. He had barely heard the King’s final words. 

“I said, you are dismissed!” 

The young Captain bowed, reluctantly, to him one before marching out the room. He was gong to find someone, who he knew wouldn’t be too happy, when they found out how his daughter was being treated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been really nervous about this chapter, especially the end, but I hope they were enjoyable anyways. 
> 
> I will be updating my other fanfics (Varian’s Revenge, I’m looking at you) very soon, I promise, I’ve just had a bit of writing block and have been a bit busy lately. But don’t worry, I’m not abandoning them! 
> 
> Again, I hope you’ve enjoyed the chapter.


	3. The Former Captain

Cassandra held her head in her trembling hands. Tears were slipping through her tightly squeezed eyelids, as sobs racked her body. 

The taste of the disgusting slop, they called food, lingered in her mouth, as did the feel of the unforgiving, sharp-tasting, metal spoon. 

Every inch of her skin was covered in bruises, from where she had been held down. The worst ones had spread right across her jawline and stung, prominently, even when she wasn't touching them. 

At that moment, she was so far gone in her pained state, that she didn't notice anyone coming into the room, until they placed a hand on her aching shoulder. It was then, that she forgot about the no-talking rule. 

"No!" She screamed, scrambling to get away, nearly toppling off the bed she was perched on, "no, no, no, no! Get away from me! I don't want anymore!" 

A soft, but sinister chuckle sounded from beside her. 

"Don't worry, you're not being fed, you stupid girl. This is much more exciting," her guard sneered, shining a candle in her direction, "you are getting a bit of an upgrade." 

Cassandra tilted her head, narrowing her eyebrows, attempting to show that she didn't understand.

The guard merely smirked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pair of handcuffs, connected to a chain that had to be hang on the wall. 

"The King has advised that you wear these, until you learn not to fight back at meal times." 

He quickly lunged and grabbed hold of her right wrist, positioning the cuff over it.  
She tried in vain to kick him away, which only caused him to twist her wrist, sharply and hold it there. 

"Tell me, beautiful, do you want cuffed wrists or broken ones?" He hissed, spitting in her face. 

Cassandra let her legs relax, as he tightened his hold, even more, producing a cry of pain. 

"Good choice." 

Freezing, metal clicked around Cassandra's wrists.

The mid-length chain was hooked onto the wall by her bed, preventing her from coming within a meter of the door. 

She felt like an animal in a cage. 

"I'm afraid that I will need to let the King know that you talked earlier."

Cassandra didn't react, she just stared down at her barely-visible feet. 

"You know, you're very close to having your tongue taken away, so I'd stick to using your pretty eyes to emote, if I were you." 

The door slammed and locked. Cassandra was left yanking against her restraints, on the verge of screaming. 

Saying that Cassandra's dad , Harold, was angry, when Eugene and Rapunzel told him everything, was a complete understatement. He was furious. 

"He wouldn't do this to the Stabbingtons or Lady Caine!" He ranted, his face bright red. 

"That's what I don't understand. Why is he doing this to Cass, when he's never done it to anyone else before?" Rapunzel questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

"It's because he hates Cass." Harold muttered, "he always has done and always will, especially after everything that's happened." 

There was a long-winded silence. Eugene was completely speechless, for once, while Rapunzel was blinking back shocked tears.

"Wha—what? Why?" She finally stuttered, her voice cracking, "why would he—-hate her?" 

Harold sighed, biting his lip. 

"Because she's Gothel's. He wanted me to dump her to an orphanage when she first arrived, because of that fact alone. Thankfully your mother convinced him to let her stay, but he treated her coldly throughout her entire childhood." He explained, "Cassandra noticed it, of course and was pretty tense around him right up into adulthood. But I never said or did anything because, I was worried that I would get fired from my position, and I would lose everything, including her." 

Rapunzel put her arm around his shoulders, wiping tears from her face. 

"I'm so sorry! If I'd known, I would've..." 

"No, Princess, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for," Harold said, "you, Eugene, Lance, Varian and Queen Arianna, all except her for who she is on the inside, you don't care where she's come from and I can't thank any of you enough for that, especially you, Rapunzel, after everything that woman did to you." 

"Cass is my best friend, I don't care who her mother is. Never have, never will. It doesn't define her." Rapunzel sniffled, "I just wish my dad could see that, too." 

"Same here, but you know how he can be, immovable." 

Eugene grumbled something, under his breath, which he thanked the heavens above didn't reach the ears of his girlfriend. 

"Then, we'll just have to try and make him moveable. I'm not just going to sit back and let Cass suffer like this." 

Harold groaned inside his head. Rapunzel had managed to win many battles with her father before, but this one, he knew, she was not going to win. 

He just knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter for Varian’s Revenge is on it’s way hopefully tomorrow or Monday, it’s in the works and I’m excited to share it, since I’ve been having massive writer’s block with that one, but I think I’m ok now 😂. 
> 
> Also don’t worry, I haven’t abandoned Waiting in The Wings or The Barletts either!


	4. The Queen

"You have a visitor." Cassandra heard from the other side of the door. 

The guard pushed open the hatch, causing her to blink rapidly, trying to get used to the sudden light wash from the hallway. 

"You're allowed to talk, this once, because she ordered it, but if you say or do anything out of line, you'll be punished severely!" 

"That's enough, James!" A familiar voice snapped, "I'll take it from here, thank you." 

"Yes, your Majesty." The guard, supposedly named James, growled in response, glaring at Cassandra. 

A lit candle was placed down in front of her, as the door slammed again, allowing Queen Arianna's kind face to become visible.

"Oh, my dear," she gasped, noticing the bruises along her jaw, as well as the shackles around her rubbed-raw wrists, "I'm so sorry. I tried to talk the King out of everything, but he....never mind." 

"It's ok, your Majesty." Cassandra replied, hoarsely. 

"I know that it won't make much difference, but I've brought you a couple of things, that might make you feel a bit more comfortable." 

Cassandra flinched, as Arianna wrapped a cardigan around her shoulders. A folded tunic, with fresh stockings and leggings was placed on her lap, shortly afterwards. 

"I also got you something a bit nicer than gruel," she grinned, warmly, handing her a couple of blackberry rolls, "but you don't have to eat them if you don't feel like it." 

"Thank you ever so much, your Majesty. But with all due respect, why are you doing this for me? I took over your kingdom, I hurt you and your people, as well as Rapunzel and Eugene......." 

She dissolved into tears. 

Arianna sighed and edged closer to the girl. She put her arm around her shoulders, which tensed at her touch, obviously not used to the feeling of comfort. 

"I know everything you did was terrible and I'm not going to say otherwise. What you did was inexcusable and you did hurt a lot of people, but it's not like you're denying any of that. You're trying your hardest to own up for what you did and become a better person, which is more than I can say for most of the criminals in the dungeons." 

Cassandra didn't say anything, she just sat there, sobbing loudly, letting The Queen stroke her back and shoulders. 

They sat like this for a while, Arianna muttering and shushing, 

It was so strange, so awful, to see Cassandra, the sweet little girl she had seen grow into a warm-hearted, smart and brave, young woman, get reduced into...well...she wasn't really sure.   
It was almost as if she had turned back into the scared, confused, toddler, the former Captian had taken under his wing, all those years ago. 

"Can I just ask," Cassandra whimpered, suddenly, pulling Arianna from her thoughts, "what day is it today?" 

"It's Monday, sweetheart." 

"Is it day or night?" 

"It's midday." 

The girl nodded, briefly, but not curtly. 

"How long have I been here for?" 

Arianna gripped her tighter, giving her shoulder a firm squeeze. 

"A week. You have five more to go, until your trial is due." 

Arianna's heart sunk, as Cassandra's face crumpled. 

"I can't do this anymore, I can't bare it!" She cried, burying her face in her hands. 

It was clear, the room was damaging her. She'd been in there, in the dark, in silence, for too long and needed a distraction from it. This girl was broken and needed building up, carefully. 

"Cassandra, I want you to do something for me." 

The younger woman quietened her sobs for a moment, listening out for what her Queen had to say. 

"I want you to, close your eyes and tell me how to polish a suit of armour." 

"I'm sorry, your Majesty, but I don't understand?" 

"You don't need to understand dear, just close your eyes, take a deep breath and tell me everything." 

Cassandra, despite being extremely baffled by the Queen's odd request, obliged. She closed her eyes, took several breaths and started talking. 

"F—F—-first you hang your suit of armour up to make sure every piece is properly aligned," she said, "and that there's not rust." 

"Then what?" 

"Then—-Then, you need to polish the chest plate. With a soft cloth, in circles, going outward. Then you work on the arms, which can be hard because of all the joints." 

Arianna couldn't disguise her smile, as the girl's shoulders relaxed and her voice stopped wavering. 

"Come on, keep going. You're doing really well." She said, stroking Cassandra's hair. 

"You then have to polish the helmet and the mouth cover, moving your cloth around in circles, again. Then the legs, you have to get the thigh plates for the shins...." 

Cassandra kept going, detailing every step that she had remembered of by heart, since she was tiny. 

"Now, tell me," Arianna said, once she'd finished, "what are you going to do with that armour, now that you've polished it?" Arianna asked. 

"Put it on?" 

"That's right. That's exactly what you're going to do, Cassandra, you're going to wear that suit of armour and fight this battle. You can do this!" 

Cassandra stared at her, in disbelief. 

"You can do this," Arianna repeated, "Plus Est En Vous." 

That was when Cassandra smiled for the first time in a while, remembering those precious words. 

After a little longer, enveloped in a hug, the Queen stood up, dusting her dress off.

"I'm afraid, that I need to go, now Cassandra," she softly said

She wasn't expecting the girl's face to fall back into upset.

"No! Please don't leave me alone, please! Please!" 

The Queen's heart almost broke over the hysterics. 

This was all completely inhuman. Fredric was torturing her. He was breaking her down and didn't seem to care. 

"Keep thinking about the armour and the battle. You're going to be brave, you're going to hold your head up head high and fight on. If you ever need me, I'll always be here." 

Arianna felt cruel, when she took the candle away, since it was the only light source Cassandra had, but when it went out, she wouldn't be able to re-light it again. 

"Thank you, your Majesty." She heard, from behind her.

Arianna smiled and quietly closed the door behind her. Cassandra squirmed as it locked. 

After a lot of feeling around, she picked up the blackberry rolls, wrapped in brown, crinkled paper, protecting them from the dirt-ridden floor. 

The smell of fresh fruit wafted into her senses, and produced a tiny smile. It was a wold away from the stench of gruel, balanced on the cruel, steel spoon, that had to be roughly crammed into her mouth. 

She ignored how sick she still felt, opened one and took a small bite. 

At that moment, it was the best thing she'd ever eaten. 

As she ate she thought a lot about Arianna's words. 

Fight that battle. 

Wear that armour. 

You can do this. 

Plus Est En Vous. 

When she slipped into bed a little while later, she repeated the words, into the pitch darkness. 

She still didn't quite believe them, but they were keeping her distracted and slightly happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place when Rapunzel and Eugene are talking to Cap. They're all trying to help Cass in different ways, but whether any of those ways will work in the long-run, we'll just have to wait and see.
> 
> The reason why I’m focused on this story so much is because, unlike some of my other stories, excluding Varian’s Revenge, this one has a lot already planned and written out.   
> I will be updating Waiting in the wings at some point soon, though.


	5. Ideas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter could be disturbing to some readers. It includes very mild sick and threat.

Weeks had gone by, but the King still was not budging. No matter how much prodding, pushing, shoving he was getting, he was not moving. 

"Rapunzel we've been through this, Cassandra is a danger to you and everyone else!" 

"But she's not, not anymore! Why can't you see, that what you're doing to her isn't helping? She's scared, she needs help and support, not isolation and darkness!" 

"Rapunzel, she needs to grit her teeth and bare her punishment, like any other prisoner!" 

The young princess clenched her fists. 

"But her punishment is worse than any of the other prisoners! She's not just been locked up in a cell, she's been locked up in a narrow room, with no light and in total silence, not to mention the force feeding!" 

"She's being force fed, to keep her healthy! She wasn't eating, Rapunzel! She's only staying in those conditions, until her trial, then she'll be put into a cell and given all the help she needs." Fredric said, calmly, "I know that her current situation may seem a bit harsh, but it's only temporary and we're not trying to hurt her." 

"But you are hurting her!" Rapunzel snapped, "mum's been in, she's seen the bruises on her skin and she's seen how broken up, Cass is." 

The King growled under his breath. 

"That's enough, Rapunzel!" He yelled, for what must've been the fourth time in one week, "I don't want to hear anymore on the subject, do you understand?!" 

"The only thing I don't understand is if you're a King or a heartless tyrant!" Rapunzel bellowed. 

With that, she ran from the room, slamming the door behind her, her face a bright red. 

"Stop!!" 

Cassandra's yells were completely ignored. She twisted in her heavy shackles, taking deep, shaky breaths. The nausea she was currently experiencing was unbearable, worsening with every spoonful of muck, shoved down her throat. 

The cold metal of the spoon clinked against her front teeth as it entered her mouth. 

"Swallow." One of the guards instructed, strictly. 

She reluctantly complied, clenching her eyes closed, as her stomach churned violently. 

"No!" She cried, attempting to turn her head away, as the spoon approached her again, "please, I feel sick! I feel sick!" 

"Never heard that before," the guard, holding the utensil smirked. 

"Please!" Cassandra tried to yell, before she was muffled by the spoon. 

She went hot, as tears stung the corners of her eyes. She willed herself not to cry, playing Arianna's words over and over again in her head. 

She was in armour. 

She was invincible. 

She was going to be ok.

She was going to fight. 

She was going to get through this. 

She was going to be.................sick. She was going to be sick! 

Cassandra gagged, as the spoon pulled back..........Then it happened.........

Cassandra, her skin now chalk-white, began to sob in shock and pain, as the guards yelled, fussing about. Some of them ran from the room, to be sick themselves. 

As she gasped for air, ignoring the vile taste in her mouth, she noticed that her vision was starting to blur. She barely noticed how much her body was intensely trembling. 

Someone scooped her up and for a split second, she thought that they were going to take her to the medical wing, but instead they just threw her down onto the bed. 

"Leave her." Someone said, "she's probably just made herself sick from all that screaming and shouting. I shall speak to the King about this, as soon as possible!" 

"No." Cassandra whimpered, pathetically. No one listened. No one cared. 

The last thing she heard, was the door slamming, before her eyes rolled backwards and the world went completely dark. 

"She was sick, your Majesty." 

The King sighed, drawing a hand to his forehead. 

"I imagine, she did it herself." He asked, with a frown. 

James nodded, placing his arms behind his back. 

"Without a doubt, sir. She was screaming and yelling at the top of her lungs. She knows about the no-talking rule, yet she carried on, being extremely rude to myself and my colleagues, may I add." 

The King frowned. 

"I wouldn't threat about it, Lieutenant, the girl won't be around for much longer." He muttered, "but in the meantime, I want you to keep her in line as much as you can." 

"Of course, your Majesty," James smirked, with a bow, "I have some...ideas lined up already." 

Fredric smiled. 

"Excellent." 

Cassandra's eyelids fluttered opened. Her stomach was burning, and her head was pounding, but she wasn't feeling sick anymore. 

She then tried to sit up, but found that she couldn't. 

"Comfy?" The wretched guard asked. 

"What did you do to me?!" She yelled, as a candle shone in her face. 

"I only gave you a little dose of this," he taunted, holding up a tiny bottle of clear liquid, "it'll wear off eventually." 

James reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

"Get away from me!" Cassandra yelled. 

"How many times must I remind you not to speak?" James hissed. 

Cassandra yelped, as he grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. She was shoved onto the floor, narrowly missing smacking her head on the concrete.   
She screamed in total panic, trying as hard as she could to move her stiffened limbs. 

"Fight the battle." The Queen's words echoed around her head, "wear that armour. You can do this." 

"I can't!" She cried out, “I can’t!” 

"I think I should teach you a very long- overdue, lesson." James smirked, pulling a knife from his belt, "what do you think?" 

Cassandra's chin was roughly grabbed, her head forced back. 

As he slid the knife underneath her tongue, the brunette screamed louder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun, dun, dun!!!! Angst!!! I'm sorry to leave this on such a cliffhanger, but you know: drama! 
> 
> I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long, I got a bit stuck with this one. Big thank you to my friend, Jess, who helped me with the puke scene, I was really worried about that bit, because I didn't want it to be too graphic/gross. 
> 
> Also big thank you, to all of you who have read, liked/voted and commented on this so far, this is one of my favourites out of the fanfics I've written and I'm so glad you guys like it too! 
> 
> Until next time!


	6. Rescued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter for Varian’s Revenge will be next, then the big Waiting In The Wings chapter, I’ve been working on and I’m so excited to share with you, once it’s done! 
> 
> I thought I would upload this chapter today, because I had so many comments on the last chapter and I felt really bad leaving everyone on that cliffhanger 😂.

"I wouldn't thrash your head, if I were you, I wouldn't want to damage your lovely face anymore, than necessary," James sneered, leaning right over his prisoner's pleading face, so that she could smell his foul onion breath. 

Cassandra cried out again as he drove his knees into her stomach, practically kneeling on her abdomen. Her immobile palms began to sweat, as her heart pulsed rapidly. 

She closed her eyes as the raw, cold edge of the knife, pressed harder against the bottom of her tongue, bracing herself for the pain. 

"Say goodbye to your loud mouth, beautiful." James taunted, the smuggest smile on his pimply face. 

"WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING?!"

The knife was instantly pulled from her mouth and thrown down, clattering to the floor, as James, was grabbed by the neck and pinned up against the wall. 

"Captain, Robit!" He greeted, waving at the two guards that had ran into the room, "I was only scaring her a little, I wasn't actually going to hurt her!" 

Robit growled, keeping him pinned, as, Eugene kneeled beside Cassandra. He stroked her greasy hair out of her eyes, trying to calm her down. She took sharp, ragged breaths, trying not to choke on her sobs. 

"Can you hear me, Cass?" He asked. 

She nodded, with a whimper. 

"What happened?" 

"A simple, misunderstanding is all," James began. 

"Quiet!" Robit yelled. 

"I —I—woke up and I couldn't move. He said that he—gave me something. It was a bottle of clear liquid." Cassandra breathed, shakily. 

"She's not allowed to talk! She's defying the King's orders!" 

James' protests went ignored. 

"What did you give the girl?" Robit asked, "show me, now!" 

James reached into his pocket, all the while whinging and complaining, to retrieve the glass bottle. 

"Acrophyme, huh?" Robit grunted, "it seems like you might be having a little date with Cassandra's father." 

"What's Acrophyme?" Cassandra asked. 

"It's a paralysis syrem," Eugene explained, gently, "the effects normally wear off in twenty-four hours, but it might be worth sending a doctor in, just to check you over." 

"This is not fair! I had orders to keep her in line, I was only doing my job!" 

"I doubt the King ordered you to paralyse her and rip out her tongue," Robit smirked, letting him drop from the wall, "Now, get out! We'll deal with you, later." 

"But..." 

"GET OUT, NOW!!" Eugene and Robit bellowed, in sync. 

James fired Cassandra a dirty look as he reluctantly left the room. He was lucky that Eugene and Robit didn't notice. 

Eugene kicked the knife across the room, out of Cassandra's line of sight and helped her into a sitting position. He had to put his arm around her, so that she'd stay upright. 

"It's alright, it's alright," he muttered. He wanted to apologise to her for effectively letting this happen. He had no idea they were treating her so cruelly. Yet, he decided it was best to save the apologies for later, Cassandra needed comfort first.

"Are you alright, Cass? She's not hurt is she?" 

"He didn't hurt you, did he, Cass?" Eugene asked. 

Cassandra shook her head, with a sniff. 

"This is the last straw. She can't stay in here, being treated like this!" 

"But where can she go?" Robit asked, "she hasn't had a trial, so we can't put her in a cell." 

"Her old room, she can stay in there, under constant supervision, of course." 

"Surely the King will object to that?" 

Eugene nodded. 

"He will, but right now, we need to think about what's best for Cass. I can't let her stay in this place, with those guards, any longer." 

After dealing with the malicious cuffs around her wrists, Eugene elevated the young woman into his arms and carried her out the room. 

Cassandra's eyes had to snap close as light beamed down on her face, however, once she'd blinked enough times, she relished it. Light was one of the simple pleasures she had missed so much and was glad to have back.

Eugene meanwhile, was thankful that Robit had noticed Cassandra's unlatched door and lack of guard, when it wasn't even her meal time, because if he hadn't, he hated to think about what would've happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this one was short, but I hope it answers your questions 😊. 
> 
> Btw- Acrophyme isn't a real thing, just made up. Also Robit, isn't a spelling mistake, it's an inside joke.


	7. Not a chapter

Hey, everyone I just wanted to say thank you for the views, kudos and comments I'm getting, I never in a million years excepted this story to get so big! Thank you so much, you lovely people 🥰🥰

I also wanted to let everyone know that I don't know if my updates will be as frequent as they normally are for any of my stories, from now, onwards, because I'm going to college next week and I don't think Ill have much time to focus on fanfics. I will still update when I can though, because I love writing 🥰🥰🥰


	8. Doctor Jones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind and supportive comments I got about college, it was so lovely! I’ve had my first day today and I really enjoyed it! 
> 
> I promise, I promise that chapters for Waiting In The Wings and Varian’s Revenge will be released very soon. The chapter for Varian’s Revenge is being written, while the Waiting In The Wings one needs some edits and tweaks here and there. 
> 
> Unlike this story and VR, which have already been completely planned out and mostly written, ready for upload, my other two fics are kind of going with the flow at the moment, so that’s why they are taking longer to write. 
> 
> The new chapter for Varian’s Revenge will up very soon, then the new WITW chapter will follow.

Harold marched down the corridors, he once lived, worked and raised his daughter. 

His daughter, his, poor, poor daughter. 

He had heard about what had happened, what that man had nearly done to her and no matter how much Arianna had tried to kindly convince him to stay in the dining room and drink tea, he was going to kill him, for it. 

The smug, little weasel, was leaning against a wall, reading a book. He didn't even look up, when Harold stood in front of him.

"Robit told me what you did." The former Captain growled. 

That made him look up.

"Oh, the whole tongue thing? I wasn't actually going to do it! I was only scaring the girl!" 

"No one, and I repeat, no one, scares my daughter!" 

For second time, that day, James was swooped off his feet and held against the wall. He dropped his book in the process, causing him to lose the page he was on. 

"O—oh! She's—she's yours! Robit mentioned—a—a father, but I had no idea it was you!" 

"Well you do now," Harold smirked, "and if you ever, ever, come near her again, you'll wish that you were never born! Comprehend?!" 

James' eyes were as wide a saucers. He was sweating all over. He was terrified. 

"Y-yes, Sir!" 

"Good."

Harold released him, letting him drop, bottom-first onto the ground, before marching away. 

James stared after him, only one thought on his mind: He needed to tell the King about this. 

Cassandra hated lying on her back. She much preferred being curled up on one side, it was far more comfortable, but since she couldn't move, she didn't have much of a choice. 

She had been lying there for what felt like hours, staring up at the ceiling, crying softly, Eugene holding her hand. 

When she had first been brought in, Rapunzel had visited and pampered her, way more than she'd ever deserved.   
She had been given fresh, plumped pillows, a duvet covered by tonnes of silky blankets, including her favourite owl one, and a pair of fleece pyjamas, that replaced her puke-stained clothes. Normally she hated that kind of attention, but she was too shaken and exhausted to care. 

Rapunzel had to leave her after a while, since she was still a prisoner and wasn't allowed visitors for more than thirty minutes, so she was alone with Eugene, waiting for a doctor to arrive. 

"How are you doing?" Eugene asked, for the fourth time, in an hour. 

"Not good." Cassandra mumbled, yet again. 

"Do you want me to dry those tears?" 

The young woman shook her head, not wanting anyone touching her face. 

"Ok." 

"I nearly lost my tongue." She muttered, shakily, "I nearly lost my ability to talk, to laugh, to sing, to..." 

She broke down sobbing again. 

The young captain squeezed her hand, tighter, murmuring something, that Cassandra could barely hear over herself. 

"Eugene?" She suddenly rasped, her eyes wide.

"Yeah?" 

"What's going to happen to me, once I recover? Will I have to go back in that room again?" 

Eugene bit his lip. The terror in Cassandra's eyes, burned through him. 

"I'll do everything within my power to prevent it," he said. 

Cassandra gave him a small, understanding nod, before turning back to face the ceiling. 

A polite knock at the door, made them both jump. 

"Doctor Jones is here to see the prisoner!" A voice announced. 

"Come in!" Eugene beckoned. 

Doctor Jones, was a middle-aged, brown-eyed man, with dark hair and tanned skin. 

"Good afternoon, Captain," he greeted, shaking Eugene's free hand, "this must be the patient?" 

"Yes, this is Cassandra." 

The doctor turned to face the woman, bundled up in bed and frowned a little.

For a moment, Cassandra thought that he was going to yell at her, or call her a witch, like most people did, but he did nothing of the sort. 

"Those bruises look very bad, darling." He muttered, pulling a chair close to her bed, "I'm afraid, I will need to check for swelling."

Cassandra almost screamed, when the doctor touched her jaw. He was gentle, but it still scared her. 

"It's ok, Cass, I'm here," Eugene uttered, seeing how tense she was getting. 

She became worse, when Doctor Jones moved onto her shoulders. She began saying "no", over and over again, when he touched them. 

"I'm not going to hurt you," Jones tried to reassure her, "you're doing so well. There's no swelling, or infections that I can see." 

Once he had finished, he took a herb from his bag. 

"This is to combat the Acrophyme," he said, handing it to Eugene, "put it into every meal and the effects should have worn off by tomorrow." 

Cassandra watched, glumly, as Eugene saw the doctor out of the room. She stared up at the blank ceiling again. 

"I'll have to leave you, now, Cass," the Captian announced, "I'll get Stan and Pete to put that stuff into your food." 

"Thanks," Cassandra replied. 

Eugene sighed. 

"Try and get some sleep, and please try not to get upset about the tongue thing. I'll see to it, that James will be taken off guard duty for as long as I can." 

Cassandra thanked him again, then he was gone, leaving her alone. 

The room had been lit up by candles and the curtains had been pulled, so Cassandra had as much light as possible, and been able to see the outside world she had missed so terribly. 

She could hear birds flying, the wind blowing, and the sound of drizzle, hitting the window. She had missed those sounds too. 

The birds chirps, reminded her of her own bird, Owl. She wondered how he was doing, if he was alright, where he was, if he still wanted to be her companion, after everything she had done, no, if he wanted to be her friend, after everything she had done. 

She ended up crying herself to sleep.


	9. Secrets and Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, VR and WITW are proving to be a bit of a struggle to write at the moment and I’m really sorry about that. For VR, I need to get a few things sorted, but some of the chapter has been written and I do know where it’s going to go. 
> 
> As for WITW, I had most of the chapter written but then it all went wrong and I have to re-write it again 😫. 
> 
> I’m really sorry my other fics are taking a while, but I promise they will be up soon! I am not abandoning them at all.

"Her trial is on the seventh," Fredric sighed, shuffling papers on a desk.

"I think by that time, I shall have her cell arranged."

Fredric smiled at the woman opposite him, who had a leer on her heavily made-up face.

"After a few months of staying in the inclosure," she continued, "I shall give her to Mr Trellis. He'll be able to find someone, who'll have use for her, I'm sure."

Fredric hummed in satisfaction, twiddling his thumbs.

"Now remember," the woman trilled standing up, "this is between you and I. No one else will ever know the truth, and if that girl ever tells anyone or tries to ask for help, she'll be as good as dead."

"Indeed," Fredric said, standing up from his chair and shaking the woman's hand, "it's been a pleasure doing business with you, Madame." 

"Likewise, your Majesty."

The woman bowed and left, her long, dark skirts dragging behind her, gracefully.

It wasn't long after she was gone, however, when there was a hasty knock at the door.

"Come in!" Fredric sighed.

The last person he was expecting to see was James the guard, looking terribly out of puff.

"Is everything alright, James?"

James shook his pimply head.

"No! The witch's father attacked me!" He yelled, "Please your Majesty, you have to believe me! He pinned me up against the wall and punched me, spat on me, beat me, all because I shouted at his daughter, when she kicked me!"

Fredric's eyes widened.

"Also, Captain Eugene has taken the prisoner to a bedroom and is pampering her! It's appalling, I tell you, appalling!"

Fredric didn't need to hear anymore, he was already marching out of the room.

This was the last straw. He was fed up with Fitzherbert, his future son in law, as well as, his own wife and daughter, treating such a disgusting brat, with kindness and compassion, after everything she'd done. 

Well, he wasn't going to stand for it. He was going to make her pay a price she'd never forget. 

He had everything under control.

"I wouldn't thrash your head, if I were you. I wouldn't want to damage your lovely face anymore, than necessary." 

Cassandra was petrified as the knife grazed across the bottom of her tongue. She was screaming, crying for help. Her eyes were wide and tearful, as she stared into her attacker's. 

She desperately searched for any trace of reluctancy or compassion in them, but could only see cruelty and malevolence. 

Her eyes squeezed shut, but she still continued to shriek. 

"Say goodbye to your loud mouth, beautiful." 

This time Eugene and Robit didn't come rushing in. This time no one saved her. This time, her tongue was torn out, slowly and painfully, as she cried. 

Cassandra's eyes flew open. She howled into the brightly lit room. Her heart pounded as she struggled to move her limbs, her mind forgetting that she had been given the Arcophyme. 

The door burst open and Stan, along with Pete filed into the room. 

"Cassandra, what's the matter?!" Pete tried asking, as Stan attempted to calm her down. 

Cassandra barely heard him. In her mind, she was still lying on the trial room floor, as her tongue was being slit. 

"Can you hear us, Cassandra?!" Stan asked, shaking her arm. 

The two men tried everything they could think of, but nothing was working. Cassandra didn't register them, caught up her own mind. 

Her hoarse cries, echoed around the room and showed no sign of stopping. 

"Her lips are going blue!" Pete exclaimed, "get Captain Eugene and a medic!" 

Stan leapt to his feet immediately, while Pete made every effort to snap Cassandra out of her state. 

Eugene sighed, resting his hand on his cheek. He signed another piece of tedious paperwork, and placed it on the ever growing pile. To be fair to the uninspiring pieces of dung, though, they were keeping him distracted from the Cassandra situation. 

At least, until his attention was completely grabbed by it, once again, staring when a frantic voice cried out: "Captain Eugene!", followed by several pounds at the oak doors. 

"Come in!" He yelled in response. 

Stan bursted in, his eyes wide and frantic. 

"What's wrong, Stan?!" Eugene asked, standing up from his desk.

"It's Cassandra! She's just woken up from her nap, screaming and crying and we can't get her to stop. She's turning blue, because she can't get enough air in!" 

"Grab the medic, I'll go to Cass!" Eugene ordered, darting out of the room. 

The warmth of candles and flickering flames, dancing in Cassandra's decorated fireplace, greeted Eugene as he entered the young woman's bedroom. 

The said young woman, was no longer screaming, but instead was shaking and whimpering, as Pete held her hand. 

"She's calmed down a bit, but I don't think that she knows where she is." Pete explained. 

Eugene joined Pete at Cassandra's bedside and tried asking if she could hear her. 

They waited for a few moments, not expecting the answer they received. 

"E-E-Eugene?" Cassandra whispered, "w-w-why can I-t-talk? W-what's g-going on?" 

"Cass, of course you can talk, you've always been able to talk." 

Cassandra shook her head, only just beginning to come to her senses. 

"N-no, James cut my tongue out!" She argued. 

"No, Cass, Robit and I saved you from that, remember?" 

Yes. That was right. Eugene was right. It was all coming back. 

"Oh." She mumbled. 

"Are you alright?" Pete asked. 

Cassandra shook her head and dissolved into tears. 

"I'm scared!" She wailed, "I don't know what happened!" 

"It's alright, Cass. There's no need to be scared, you're totally safe." Eugene whispered, stroking her hand. 

If only Eugene knew, what the King had in store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cass kind of went into shock in this chapter. I was going to add a scene where the medic cane in and sort of diagnosed her, but I've decided to save that for the next chapter instead. 
> 
> Also, thank you all so much, again for all the views, likes, comments and now fanart! I am so thankful to every one of you! 💖💖💖💖


	10. Captain No More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had loads of free time at college today, so I spent it writing this chapter 😅

"Where's Captain Eugene?!" King Fredric growled, at a group of guards, who were supposed to on their way to dinner break.

"He went to see Cassandra. Apparently, she's unwell," Thomas, one of the younger guards replied, "That's all I know, Your Majesty."

The king didn't even thank them, he just stormed off, leaving the group bewildered.

"What's up with him?" Rupert, the second youngest, replied.

"I don't know, he's been like it since the attack, not even Princess Rapunzel can get through to him." Charlie, the oldest, whispered to his colleagues.

"Hey! What are you boys doing, gossiping like a bunch of handmaidens?!"

The men turned to see Old Lady Crowley standing in front of them, wearing her usual scowl.

"Nothing Mrs Crowley!" They said in unison, before scuttling away. The last thing they needed was to be yelled at by her.

Cassandra's room was getting a little too crowded, for Eugene's liking. He was scared that she was going to get overwhelmed, which wouldn't do her any good, since she was already very distressed.

Word had spread about a medic being called for Cassandra, again, inevitably beckoned, a worried Rapunzel, Lance and Harold into her bedroom. 

Rapunzel was being her usual sweet self, rallying around, collecting pillows, blankets and even stuffed animals, to comfort her best friend, Harold was sitting by her bed, her hand in his, asking her a bunch of questions, clearly very frantic, Lance was panicking, as always, and then there was that darned medic.

Unfortunately, Doctor Jones, wasn't available, his schedule packed to the brim, so poor Cass was stuck with Doctor Percy, who clearly hadn't slept in weeks. He had dark rings underneath his baggy eyes, and kept yawning into his palm every few minutes.

"Captain Eugene!" Stan suddenly called, poking his head around the door, "His Majesty needs to talk to you, it's urgent!"

Rapunzel looked up from smoothing a blanket over her friend's form, to give her boyfriend a puzzled glare. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Cassandra freeze and Harold tightening his grip on her hand.

"He's not taking her out of here." He growled. 

"I won't let him, it'll be fine." He tried to reassure them, "I'll be right back."

Eugene drew a deep breath, as he left the room. He was hoping, praying, that it was nothing to do with Cassandra. She was going through enough already.

"Captain," his future father-in-law greeted, coldly, "come into the throne room, I need to speak to you."

"She went into shock,” Doctor Percy informed everyone, “which I don’t think is anything serious. You just need...."

He stopped to yawn, throwing his hand up to his mouth.

"...Excuse me. You just need to stick by her, as much as you can and make sure that..."

Another side-splitting yawn. Harold held in an annoyed groan. 

"....Excuse me....you just need to make sure that she remains calm and happy."

"Oh yeah, because she has so much to be happy about!" Harold snapped, taking everyone in the room, jump, "in case no one's told you, already, she was manipulated and controlled to hurt her friends and family, as well as, attack her home, she's been trapped in a dark room, alone, for weeks, she was threatened and abused by the palace guards, and now she's having nightmares, that are causing her to scream until she goes blue, of course that’s something serious!” 

The medic opened his mouth to say something, but Harold put his hand up to silence him.

"I'm not done!" He yelled, "And, on top of all of that, she still hasn't had a trial yet! So, you tell me, good Sir, what has she got to be happy about?!” 

The medic stepped back a little, his eyes wide. He wasn't expecting the former captain to react like that.

Cassandra would've smiled, if she didn't feel so distressed. No one could handle her dad, when he was in a temper, especially when that temper was about his daughter and her safety.

She glanced at Rapunzel, who looked shocked out his outburst, but was visibly trying to hide a proud grin. 

Lance was in the corner, biting his nails, looking anxiously from one man, to the other. 

“Well," the medic breathed, picking up his briefcase, "I'm afraid, that there is nothing else I can suggest. Good day.” 

He turned back to Rapunzel, bowed and then stormed out of the room, slamming the door. 

“Don’t go after him.” Rapunzel warned, grabbing Harold’s shoulder as his face turned an angry crimson. 

“I’ll try not to.” 

Eugene felt a chill go down his spine, as he entered the large, empty room. Since it was evening, the sky was getting dark, meaning that the only light was provided by a few candles.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty?" He asked.

"I thought you would've figured that out."

Eugene frowned, as the King took his place on the throne. 

"What are you talking about?" 

"Eugene, you're the man I respect the most. You brought my daughter home to me, after eighteen long years." The King sighed, "but if you continue to have empathy for an ungrateful, evil brat, who tried to kill that same daughter and destroy my kingdom, I will lose every bit of that trust!” 

Eugene was dumbfounded. He didn’t know what to say. The King’s words were like arrows piercing his heart, so much so, that he barely heard the words that followed.

“You’re fired from your position. You are a Captain, no more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Eugene ☹️. 
> 
> Thank you guys so much, as always for all the love and support this story has been given!!!! 💖💖💖💖


	11. I Can’t Do This Again!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop! Two chapters, for two stories, in two days! Loads of twos! 😂😂 
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this one, it went through a lot of changes and I really hated it at first!

"You fired Eugene?!" Rapunzel yelled, when she met her father in the corridoor, later that evening.

"It's none of your concern, Rapunzel." Fredric replied, trying to walk away.

"None of my concern?! He is the love of my life! He died for me, he brought me home to you after eighteen years, why are you treating him like this? What is wrong with you, first Cass, now Eugene?!"

Fredric growled, turning to face his daughter.

"Stop sticking your nose in where it isn't wanted, Rapunzel!" He bellowed, "this is between Eugene and I!"

Rapunzel's mouth fell open a little, in shock, but she didn't stop.

"You fired him so he wouldn't be able to help out in Cassandra's trial, didn't you?!" She exclaimed. The words came out fast but loud. She was shaking with anger, seething through her gritted teeth.

Fredric's face darkened.

"Rapunzel, I love you, but I'm afraid, I'm left with no choice," he began, changing the subject, "as of tonight, I am forced to forbid you from leaving your bedroom, until Cassandra's trial is complete."

"What? No, you can't do this again!" Rapunzel argued, "you can't lock me up all over again! I need to be there for Cass, she needs me!"

"Rapunzel, I am your King!" 

"Yes, and I am Cassandra's friend, I need to be there for her! She's really scared!" 

"I don't care if she's scared, or not Rapunzel, that girl is a danger to us all and I can't believe that you and Eugene are showing her such passive empathy!" 

Rapunzel snapped.

"Well, maybe because, we believe in something called, forgiveness!" She screamed. 

"Well, maybe not everyone is forgivable!" Fredric roared. 

Rapunzel bit her lip, with a scowl. 

"Now, before I really lose my temper with you," Fredric breathed, "go to your room, immediately! I will not tell you again!" 

Rapunzel held in a snarl of frustration as she stormed away.

She had to wonder if her father any better than Gothel... or even worse. 

Arianna had been attending to her Queenly duties all day, so she hadn't been up to date on what had been happening . When Fredric told her, however, she was enraged. 

"How could you do this, again?!" She cried, as they were getting ready for bed, "not to mention firing Eugene! What has got into you?!" 

"Nothing, Arianna, I just thought it would be for the best." 

"For who?!" His wife argued, pacing around the room. 

The King shrugged, before putting his pyjama top over his head. 

"For everyone. Eugene is not fit to be a Captain, if he acts that way towards a prisoner, and as for Rapunzel, well, she simply isn't safe around that dangerous, mess of a girl!" 

"Cassandra isn't dangerous and she certainly isn't a mess! She needs her friends, she needs her dad, she needs support more than anything right now and you're trying to take that away from her!" 

Fredric sighed. 

"That girl doesn't deserve support, she deserves punishm-" 

"HASN'T SHE BEEN PUNISHED ENOUGH?!!!!" 

Arianna's shrieks could've woken the whole castle. She was bright red, her closed fists shaking with her wrath. 

"She's been locked in a room, stuck in inhuman conditions and been tortured by the guards! What more do you want her to suffer through, Fredric?! She's terrified of you!" 

"I was terrified of her!" Fredric quarrelled, "she deserves to pay for what she did!" 

"You know what?" Arianna spat, dragging a brush through her long locks, "you're not the man I married. You're so bent over your own selfish needs and wants, that you don't care about anyone else!" 

Before Fredric could react, Arianna had already collected up her things and marched towards the door. 

"I'm sleeping in one of the guest rooms, until you can prove to me, that you actually are the man I married!" 

The door slammed. Fredric was left in a stunned silence. 

This was all that Cassandra's fault. She was the reason for this argument. If she hadn't teamed up with that demon and stole that stone, none of the misery everyone was facing, would've happened. She was just like her mother and he would make her pay for that.

The good thing was, he already had a plan, in place. 

Cassandra was enjoying her nightmare-free sleep, for about twenty minutes, until she was awoken by something bright, shining in her eyes. 

"Don't be alarmed, Miss Gonzalez, we've come to take you somewhere for safe keeping, where you'll be kept until your trial." A guard reassured her, lowering the lamp. 

Cassandra nodded slowly, sitting up. The movement in her upper body had come back, after she had taken the antidote, but her lower body was still struggling to cooperate. 

"Does Captain Eugene know?" She asked. 

"Of course he does, he'll meet you there," the guard lied, "now, come on we'll help you walk." 

Two guards took hold of her arms, while two others held her shoulders, which induced a few whimpers from Cassandra, as their fingers accidentally brushed against her tender bruises. 

They practically dragged her, out of the room, since Cassandra's legs refused to move, no matter how hard she tried to make them. 

"The King says that you'll be taken to a cell, where you'll receive regular care and treatment for your paralysis and nightmares." The guard continued, "you'll have plenty of light and there will be no more force-feeding, for you." 

Cassandra gave him a grateful beam. 

"Tell His Majesty, that I say thank you," she said, "tell him I thank him so, so, so much!" 

"Of course, Miss Gonzalez. I'm sure he'll be pleased to hear that." 

The guards continued to move, gently helping her down flights of stairs and chatting to her, until they reached a familiar corridor. 

Cassandra shivered. She wasn't sure if it was from the cold, or from the fear, the sickening memories brought back to her. 

Her stomach flipped, as she caught sight of that wooden door. 

For a moment, the feeling faded, as she convinced herself that they were going to walk past it and go down to the dungeons, but then she heard the jingle of keys, as they were pulled out of a guard's pocket. 

The guards started tugging her towards the door. 

"No!" She screamed, fighting and clawing at them with all her might, "I'm not going back in there! You said I wouldn't have to!" 

"Did I?" The lying guard, smirked, opening the door. 

Cassandra shrieked, continuing to fight, but the guards held her fast.

She was quickly thrown in. She couldn't stand, so she watched, pathetically on her knees, as the door closed. 

The light disappeared and the dark returned. 

Cassandra screamed. 

She screamed and screamed and screamed. She couldn't stop. 

She banged her fists against the door, begging to be let out. 

"Please! Please, I'll do anything you want, just let me out!" 

No response. 

"Please! Let me out of here!" 

Cassandra slammed her fists into the door again, but was met with silence. 

"Let me out!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs, repetitively punching the wooden barricade. 

She broke. 

She burst into tears. 

"I can't do this." She whispered, "Not again. I can't do this, again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel cruel. Poor Cassandra! 😭😭😭
> 
> Originally this chapter was going to be a lot shorter, with only the two arguments, but honestly I think it's better with the Cassandra scene. I also couldn't wait to write it, so here we are! 😂


	12. Who are you?!

Eugene felt so angry as he walked past that wretched wooden door. Cassandra's hoarse screams echoed through the hallway, causing the guards to become very irate. 

"Move along, Eugene, she's fine." One of the guards growled, stoically. 

"She's not fine!" Eugene argued, behind gritted teeth, "she's scared, she's hurt, she's upset, she's lonely, just like Rapunzel! You can't keep them both of them locked up like this!"'

"What are you going to do about it? You can't break them out, like you did last time, the security too tight. Now, MOVE ALONG!!" 

Eugene glared in response, but slunk away. He was ashamed of himself. Ashamed that he couldn't do anything to protect his own girlfriend, or little sister, who both needed him now, more than ever. 

Cassandra strained, as she let out another piercing scream. It hurt her ears, but she didn't care. 

She kicked her bound legs, thumping them against the footboard, uncomfortably, as she listened to the sound of her whines. 

The Acrophyme had long worn off, but they had strapped her down to her bed to "calm her down" and keep her "in place", by order of the new Captain, James. She desperately wanted to know what had happened to Eugene to make that git Captain. What was even more worrying, was that nor he, Rapunzel, her father, Varian or Lance, had been in to see her. She'd had no visitors at all. 

There was a loud pounding at the door, and yet another bellow for her to shut up. But she was past the point of listening. 

Tears rolled down her pale cheeks, as she gazed into the dark void all around her. She needed light! She needed light! She needed light!

When she screamed again, it hurt. It felt like someone had poured sharp, rusty nails down her throat. 

"One more sound out of you.....!" She heard one of the guards yell, banging on the door again. She didn't hear the rest of the sentence, as it was blocked out by the pummel of her heart. 

What was that? What was that she could see? It looked like two eyes, surveying her. 

"Who are you?!" She called out. 

No reply. 

"Who are you?!!!" She screeched, starting to thrash. 

Once again there was no reply. 

"Please, just tell me who you are!!!" 

The eyes dissolved, into the gloom. Cassandra couldn't see them, anymore. 

"Are you finished?" The guard growled, marching into the room. 

"I—I—saw eyes." 

"Eyes?" He smirked, "you're crazy." 

"I'm not. Seriously, I saw eyes!" 

The guard sneered.

"It's your sleepy time," he said.

"No!" She panicked, pulling on her binds, "I'm not ready, I don't want-" 

The guard ignored her, pulling out a brown bottle and a spoon. 

She knew this process all to well. It was a horrible syrem they used to control her, to manipulate her mind into falling asleep when her screams became to much for them. 

The spoon was shoved into her mouth, which made her entire body seize up. She couldn't breathe. 

"Swallow." 

Cassandra complied out of fear. What she could see of the guard's face was unforgiving, stoic and emotionless. 

"Sleep tight," he leered, screwing the bottle cap back on. 

As the world blurred, the eyes appeared one final time, before disappearing once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter was really short, but there is a reason for this. I'm going to show Cassandra experiencing the effects of isolation, while still dealing with her nightmares, in three, small, filler chapters, that will lead up to a much longer, exciting one.


	13. Leave me alone!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note before we begin- I am making a TTS fan comic about Cassandra's daughter! I kinda got the idea after watching The Little Mermaid 2, for the first time in ages and it developed from there. Anyway, enough of me rambling and on with the chapter 😂-

The first thing Cassandra heard after waking from yet another syrem-induced sleep, was a familiar, sinister voice. 

"You poor thing!" 

Cassandra immediately tensed, trying to sit up, forgetting the tough bindings, pinning her to the bed. She peered around in the pitch black, spying for the little demon.

"I'm sorry this has happened to you, Cassandra." She heard from behind her. 

The young woman craned her neck as much as she could, but couldn't see anything, yet she swore she could hear the demon giggling to herself. 

"You're gone!" She called, "you can't hurt me anymore!"'

"I will never be gone! I will always be here, Cassandra." 

"Leave me alone!" Cassandra screamed, yanking on her ropes and chains. 

"You don't need to be scared of me, Cassandra, I'm your friend, remember?" 

"You're not my friend! You never were! Shut up and leave me alone!"

But the voice refused, echoing around the room, calling her name, over and over again. 

"Help! Someone help me!" Cassandra yelled, struggling with all her might against her binds, "help!" 

"I can help you, Cassandra! You just need to trust me!" The demon hissed. 

"Guards!" She tried calling, "help me!" 

Suddenly Zhan Tiri's bright-purple eyes came into view, as did her grinning mouth. 

"No one will help you now, Cassandra! You belong to me!" 

"Help! Please someone, anyone, help me!" 

It was at that moment that the door swung open, and Zhan Tiri disappeared into the murky gloom. 

"What's wrong?" Wilson, the same guard who kept dosing her up with sleep tonic, asked, hovering in the door way, "another pair of eyes?" 

His tone was cocky, sarcastic and cruel. He clearly thought she had a screw or two loose. 

"Z-Z-Zhan Tiri! She-she-was here!" Cassandra stuttered, starting to cry. 

"Of course she was," Wilson smirked. 

He stuffed a rag into Cassandra's mouth, to block out her cries, before leaving the room again. 

Cassandra froze as she began to see dancing shapes, travelling up and down, in the darkness. Then she heard the voice again. 

"You poor thing." 

She didn't hear the voice again, but she kept seeing the shapes. They were colourful and bright, but they did not substitute for the light she craved.

The next day of darkness came and went, and then another, then another, then another and then another. 

"Your trial is approaching," James hissed, when he came in, purely to taunt her, "I hope you're looking forward to spending the rest of your pathetic, useless, little life in here. In the dark, all alone." 

He gave her a sneer, spat on her, and then left with a small chuckle. 

The door shut and the key turned. It was then when Cassandra heard that voice again. 

"Don't be upset, dear, if you would just let me help you, then everything will be alright." 

"Please, leave me alone." Cassandra silently begged, "please."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Cass, her hallucinations are getting so much worse! I have one more of these little chapters, before the big chapter! Yay!
> 
> Also, again, thank you all so, so, so, so much for all the love and support this story has! I really appreciate it!!


	14. Mother?

Cassandra's screams had finally ceased. She was too exhausted to scream. She had a headache that felt like a knife going through her head. 

The sleeping tonic wasn't helping, it was making her groggy and sick. She had put up fights, begged them not to give it to her, and even tried to spit it out, but every fight was lost, every beg was silenced and every attempt to spit was shoved back down. 

The rag in her mouth hadn't been removed, except from when she needed to eat, drink or take that darned tonic, so it had become damp with her saliva and extremely uncomfortable.   
They had tied it around her head, so she was unable to spit it out. 

As her head pounded, Cassandra shifted uncomfortably. She had spent far too long lying still on her back. Her bones were killing her, as they yearned to get up and stretch. 

"I could see if we can get Doctor Jones to prescribe you with any painkillers?" A less horrible guard, named Ruben, offered one day, but never followed up on it. 

As searing pain plummeted down her back, Cassandra let out a weary howl. She closed her eyes and tried so hard to imagine that she was someplace else. She had been trying this tactic for a few days and so far it hadn't been working very well, but she was willing to try again, desperate for anything to distract her from the circumstances. 

She was at home. Not the castle, her other home, her dad's house. She was lying on one of it's plush sofas, gazing into the stone fireplace, where roaring flames danced about, their warmth, comforting her. Opposite her, was her father, sitting on his armchair, reading the newspaper. He occasionally glanced up to take a sip of his coffee, or to smile at her, but.... 

"Excited for your trial, tomorrow?" James' horrible, snotty voice barged in. 

Cassandra opened her eyes as he tugged the cloth from her mouth. She gulped for air, trying to rid her tongue of it's disgusting taste. 

"No comment," she mumbled. 

"You know, I was going to take this away," James said, holding up the cloth, "but since you have nothing to say, then, you don't need to talk at all." 

James smirked, as he tightened the fabric's knot at the back of the struggling girl's head. 

"Don't struggle, you'll only hurt yourself," he sneered, before glancing down at her shoulder, "take this as an example..." 

Cassandra gasped, holding in a whimper, as James deliberately pinched her deeply bruised skin. 

"I'll be back, bright and early tomorrow morning to take you to the court room." He informed her, "someone will be coming to give you some more sleepy stuff soon, I have a feeling you'll need it, you have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow."

When he left, Cassandra felt a lump rise in her throat. She was so frightened about her trial. The thought of it made her stomach do somersaults. She was afraid of facing everyone, especially the King, she was afraid of the cruel and humiliating comments she was going to receive, but most of all, she afraid of the outcome. 

She might be kept in the dark for the rest of her life! The thought of that made her sick, she wouldn't be able to bare it. 

What if they banished her? What would she do, where would she go? She'd probably be left out on the streets and eventually starve to death. 

Speaking of death, what if they decided to execute her? Bring an axe down on her neck, string her up, burn her at the stake. 

She was on the verge of throwing up, when something sounded out in the darkness. 

No. Not again. Please, anything but this! 

"Hello, my darling." 

Mother? 

Cassandra scanned around the room, but just like with Zhan Tiri, couldn't see anything. 

"Don't be scared, dear, your mummy is here. How about, you come back home to the cottage with me? I won't let anyone hurt you, you poor dear." 

No. Leave me alone! You're not real, you're not, you're not, you're not! 

A grinning woman appeared in front of Cassandra, before vanishing again.

"Don't be alarmed. Come back home with mummy and I'll keep you safe!" 

The demands began getting much more aggressive, echoing all around the room, drowning out Cassandra's distressed, muffled whimpers. 

Suddenly, the voice faded, as quickly as it appeared. 

Cassandra was shaking from head to toe, trying to steady her breathing. 

Why did stuff like this keep happening? Was she crazy? Was she dreaming? Had her imagination got the better of her? She had no idea. 

The door opened, and in walked a guard, to give her another heavy dose of medicine. 

Cassandra's body shivered, one more time, before the cloth was pulled down and the spoon delve into her mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Next chapter is going to be a big one and I'm so excited!   
> Thank you so much to ngocthach4020 on AO3 for the Cass hallucinating Gothel part. I was going to do her hallucinating Gothel and Fred, but I thought that just Gothel worked better in this chapter, but I'll probably use that idea in a later chapter. 
> 
> The line where James tells Cass that she doesn't need to talk at all, was based of a line from Shadows, by the amazing PocketProtector! Check it out if you haven't read it!


	15. On Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly couldn’t wait to release this chapter! I’m so happy with it, I hope you guys like it too!

Harold was nervous. He kept pacing, sweating and even resorting to nibbling on hangnails. He tried to distract himself, by glancing at a newspaper or book every now and then, but it wasn't working.   
He stared at the boxes full of his stuff that had been brought from his room at the castle. He needed to unpack. There was so much renovating to be done. The house was pretty much a blank slate, because it had only been used as a getaway home, since Harold became captain. The last time it had been used was the summer before Princess Rapunzel came home. Since then, Cassandra's demanding lady in waiting duties had prevented them from having a proper holiday, so the house had remained abandoned. 

Harold opened the smallest box and reached for the first item, a small, wooden, soldier doll, Cassandra had made him for Guardian's Day, two years ago.

He soullessly, let it slip from his palm and fall back in. He buried his face in his hands, and allowed himself to cry, the pain, worry and grief sinking in, all at once. 

"I'm a failure," he whimpered, as tears stung his calloused hands, "I've failed her, I've failed my little one!" 

He'd lied to her. He'd told her that her parents died from Pneumonia, that's why he took her in. He'd kept the truth from her, for twenty long years. He did it to protect her from growing up, being feared and bullied, by everyone, other than the king, just because she was the daughter of that cruel woman. 

But it hadn't worked out. 

She found out the truth, in the worst way imaginable and it had filled her with so much pain, anger, betrayal, that she had been twisted into being something she wasn't. 

And now she was locked up, all alone, probably terrified and he wasn't allowed to see her. King Fredric had ordered him to stay away from Cassandra, until her trial was over. 

It wasn't fair. Even if she wasn't his, biologically, she saw him as her father, her guardian and had done so for such a long time, he had adopted her, when no one else would and raised her, as his own flesh and blood, so, surely, he had the legal right to see her? 

Apparently, not according to Fred. 

Harold roared and slammed his fists against the wall, not caring that he had created a crack. 

He was too scared, too distraught, too indignant, too broken, to care. 

"Good morning, gorgeous," James sneered, barging into the room, "ready for your trail?" 

Cassandra was curled up on the bed, in tears. . 

She whimpered as a fleet of guards moved towards her. They had untied her from the bed that morning, but hadn't been very gentle about it, causing her already scaved body, to endure more suffering. 

They shackled her wrists behind her back, and proceeded to march her from the room. 

As the light hit Cassandra's eyes, for the first time in weeks, they stung, but soon managed to adjust. Once they had, she relived the feeling of relishing the feeling of having brightness back in her life. 

"Ready?" James whispered, when they neared the throne room. 

He didn't wait for her to answer, not that she felt like it, anyway, and instructed his men to drag her through the double doors. 

Murmurs from the crowd of townspeople, as well as the jury, caught Cassandra's attention. 

"I think they should send her to the nut house! She's loopy!" Someone yelled. 

"I think they should have her executed!" Another person said. 

James' taunting didn't spare her ears either. 

"They all hate you, you know." He whispered, "look, even the Princess doesn't like you anymore, she couldn't even be bothered to show up." 

Cassandra scanned the room and realised that he was right. Rapunzel wasn't there, nor was Eugene, or Arianna, for that matter. 

"Your fake dad doesn't want you either, he's not here, is he?" 

Cassandra cried out, as he deliberately dug his fingers into the bruises on her shoulders.

"Shhh," he hissed, "you're going to miss your trial." 

Cassandra was on the verge of tears, as she was forced to stand and listen to the King's boring speech about the royal court. Her feet were aching, but she wasn't allowed to move them. 

"Cassandra Illene Eden Gonzalez," the King addressed her, "you're charged with, high treason, theft, mass destruction, attempted murder, kidnapping, drugging of a minor, brainwashing, vandalism and aiding an evil force, how do you plead?" 

The word "guilty", was balanced on the tip of her tongue, as the actual, physical guilt took over her senses, however she didn't get to say it, as another voice interrupted her. 

"Objection!" 

Varian. 

"Cassandra wasn't in full control!" He argued, meeting her eyes, "she was being manipulated by Zhan Tiri. She was controlling and corrupting her! You need to understand that she didn't orchestrate anything of her own accord!" 

"While this is true," the King began, "Cassandra didn't do anything to fight these "manipulations", nor did she tell anyone about them, so she obviously wanted them to continue." 

"No!" Cassandra argued, not thinking before she spoke, "that's not true! I didn't kn-" 

"Silence in court!" Fredric bellowed. 

Varian, who was about to join in with Cassandra's argument, drew back and closed his mouth, catching sight of the King's irate scowl. 

James took hold of Cassandra's shoulders, again, yanked her backwards and leaned down, so his lips were touching her ear. She shivered. 

"You'll do well to keep your mouth shut!" He snarled, rubbing his dirty finger nail, against one of her wounds, "we don't want you getting hurt, now, do we?" 

Cassandra winced, trying to struggle away from him, but he then grabbed her waist in a vice-grip. 

"Come on, now, be quiet and enjoy the rest of the trial." He smirked, running a finger across her chin, catching and inflaming one of her bruises. 

Cassandra tried to ignore the sudden pain and focus on what the King was saying, but then, the arrival of salty tears, blurred her vision. 

"Did that hurt?" James jeered, in mock sympathy, "what are you going to do, tell fake daddy to attack me, again?"

"Captain, is everything alright?" Fredric asked, pausing in the middle of his sentence. 

"I'm dreadfully sorry, Sire, everything's fine, just keeping the prisoner in line. Please continue." 

Fredric nodded, turning back to the crowd and the jury, who were all staring at the crying Cassandra, some in concern, some in cynicism. 

Varian, in particular, felt awful. He remembered that cruel man. He used to hurt him, on purpose and claim it was an accident, and by the looks of things, he was probably doing much worse to Cassandra. The young woman looked so unsettled around him, flinching whenever he came near her. 

"Allow me to ask again, what does the accused plead?" Fredric boomed. 

"Talk!" James growled, shoving Cassandra forward. 

She looked at the crowd again, and was surprised to see Adria, spying James with disgusted eyes, looking ready to retrieve her sword from her sheath. Why did she care, after all she'd done to her and the brotherhood? 

"G-guilty." Cassandra finally stuttered, through her tears, "I'm guilty." 

Fredric nodded. 

"Very well then, I sentence you to three years in the dungeons." 

Cassandra's eyes widened in surprise. Was he serious? 

"W-What?! With all due respect, Your Majesty, I deserve much worse!" 

"Dismissed!" Fredric yelled over her. 

The guards seized Cassandra and led her out of the room. The less-horrible one, took out a fresh handkerchief and placed it in her pocket. 

"It's for the tears." He said, softly. 

Cassandra put up a fight, when they tried to put her back into the trail room. She kicked and screamed like crazy.

"It's just for one more night, Miss Gonzalez!" One of the guards said, "you'll be fine!" 

"Allow me to take her." James said, calmly, "you can go." 

James grabbed her by the arms and held her still. 

"Don't struggle, you'll only hurt yourself." He taunted, again. 

He threw her into the room, watching as she sat up, whining in pain. 

"What's the matter? Is fake daddy not around to protect you, anymore?" 

Cassandra shot him her most viscous glare. 

"Stop calling him that!" She ululated. 

"Why? It's not like he's your real dad, he was just burdened with you, when no one else wanted you!"

Cassandra clenched her fists. She couldn't take it anymore. 

"Shut up!" She screamed, leaping onto her feet and reaching out to tackle him, "don't you ever, speak about him like that, again!" 

James seized her chin in one hand, her wrists in the other and looked her directly in the eyes.

"Make me!" He snarled, a sadistic grin painting his lips, he looked almost bloodthirsty, and not for the first time, Cassandra was scared that she was going to die in his hands. 

He pushed her onto the edge of the bed and grabbed his knife from his belt. He raised it over her chest, for a moment, to stun her, before pressing it against her throat. 

"I was ordered to give you this," James said, pulling out a familiar, brown bottle, "we can't have you too tired to go on your little trip, can we?" 

"Trip?" Cassandra spluttered. 

James sneered, tipping the syrem into her mouth. 

"You're going somewhere far away, so far that Corona isn't even on the maps, and you're never coming back." 

Cassandra's eyes widened. She tried to fight against the tonic, but it quickly overtook her senses and soon she fell unconscious. 

She slipped off her bed and sprawled on the floor. 

James smiled, satisfied with his "handy work". He gave her a sharp kick in the ribs, before flinging her over his shoulder. He carried her from the room, locking the door behind him. 

A large ship pulled up in Corona's docs.

Cassandra was placed down on a bed, in one of its manky cabins, blissfully unaware of what was going on around her. She couldn't scream, she couldn't fight, she couldn't protest, she was completely vulnerable. 

The boat pulled away, once the prisoner inside was secured and sailed across the sea, the midnight moon illuminating it's sails.


	16. The Ship

"She's gone. The ship left last night, Your Majesty."

"That's good to hear, but whatever you do, do not let that information spread anywhere else but this room, do you understand, Captain?" 

James nodded, with a sweeping bow. 

"Of course sir, you have my word, but won't her Majesty, the Princess and the ex-Captain find it strange that the girl is missing?" 

The King smiled. 

"Don't worry Captain, I have the situation under control. You are dismissed." 

James gave one final bow, before leaving the room. 

Cassandra had been awake for a while and she hadn't spoken to anyone, not even when the guards came to check on her. She was too miserable. 

She had been told that she was being taken to the Prison Barge of the Lost Sea. 

She had always wondered where the Prison Barge of the Lost Sea, travelled to. Even her father didn't know, since he had never been on duty there, even before he was captain. But now, she was dreading the answer. 

She was scared. 

Her nibbled nails, scratched against the ship's wooden walls, as she crouched on her tiny bed. Her fingers were really sore, now, a sign that she should probably stop, but she ignored it, mindlessly staring at the invisible scratches she was making. 

She couldn't stop thinking about the day before, what James did to her, forcing her into submission, and how the King betrayed her, by lying about her sentence, and sending her to the unknown. It was beyond frightening and upsetting. 

She could feel the waves lapping as the boat slowly moved along them. She could smell the strong scent of salt, from the sea water, which should've relaxed her, but failed to. 

"Stop that scratching noise! It's doing my head in!" 

The voice startled her. 

Cassandra looked up, to see a man, peering, angrily, through the barred door of the cabin opposite her.   
She growled, under her breath, reluctantly lowering her fingers, knowing that she wouldn't be able to handle confrontation in the nervous state she was in. 

She peered around the room, looking for something else to entertain her mind, not caring that her fingertips were now bleeding. 

The brunette slowly moved from the bed, nearly falling face-first from how wobbly the boat was. She leant on the tiny, round window-sill, and looked out at the overcast atmosphere. 

Birds skimmed across the sky, gracefully and fish bobbed about in the water, going about their day. She could hear the blustering wind, which was sending freezing cold air, into the cabin. 

Cassandra folded her arms, as she strolled back over to the bed. She flopped down on it, cringing, as it's tired, rusty springs creaked in protest. She sucked at her stinging fingers and stared, blankly at the looming ceiling. 

She felt sudden urge to cry, but held it in. If a prisoner could hear her scratching, they could definitely hear her sob.

As the boat bobbed over another wave, a ripple of fear went through her.

The ship was getting closer and closer to her fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter was so short but I thought I should get an update out before WattPad has to go into maintenance on the 6th. Also this serves more as a filler chapter, to show how Cassandra is coping. 
> 
> This is not my favourite chapter at all, but I hope you guys like it and if you think there’s anyway I can improve it, please let me know. Thank you 🥰.


	17. The Prison Barge of the Lost Sea

Three days had felt like three years, to Cassandra. Maybe it was her nerves, her fears, her sadness, her loneliness, all of the above? She didn't know. 

As the ship finally slowed to a stop, she rubbed her hands together and gently blew between them, desprate to warm them up. The blanket she had wrapped around her shoulders, that morning, wasn't providing much warmth anymore, as the temparture inside the cabin had dropped considerably, since then.

A jingling key in the door, made her freeze, her shoulders tensed up and she felt the burning urge to scream. It took her sevral moments to realise that she wasn't in the dark or tied down. 

"Stand up and put your hands out in front of you." 

Cassandra did as she was instructed, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

The guard snapped a pair of cuffs on her wrists and lead her out of the cabin.

She was shoved into a long line of other prisoners, who were crossing from the ship and onto the barge. Petrified, she forced her trembling legs to move, keeping her head low. 

She didn't want to do this.

"Hurry up!" Another woman hissed from behind her, shoving her hard, in the back.

Cassandra did, biting down on her lip to stop herself from crying.

The moment she stepped onto the prison barge, she was roughly grabbed and a weapon was aimed at her neck.

"Search her!" A middle aged woman ordered,

Hands patted her down, and reached into her pockets, while voices roared at her to keep still. She hadn't noticed how much she was shaking.

The only thing they found, was the hankercheif she had been given, after her trial. For Cassandra, it was almost like a symbol, for the first act of kindness she had been shown in many weeks.

"Get rid of it."

Cassandra struggled, flailing around, trying to snatch it back.

"No!" She screamed, "give it back, you have no right to take that!"

"I'll have you know, we have all the right to take whatever we want," the woman sneered. 

She made a gesture to the two guards holding Cassandra. They nodded, in response, before hauling her away.

The brunette was chucked into a cell that was barely half the size of her boat cabin.   
She landed on the grimy floor, wincing as her knees scraped against it. The door creaked before slamming shut, trapping her inside.

"Well, well, well," a familiar voice uttered, "if it isn't the Princess' little slave!"

Cassandra looked up to see someone she hoped she'd never have the displeasure of seeing again. 

Lady Caine. 

She was perched on the edge of left-hand bed, sneering down at her, her eyes glistening in the candlelight. 

"What are you in for, sweetheart? Not organising her laundry correctly?"

Cassandra didn't reply, instead, she crawled onto her own bed, wrapped her arms around herself and scrutinized the wall.

A horn sounded out, and the barge began to move across the water. 

Cassandra's heart dropped to her stomach. 

Throughout the rest of the evening, Caine couldn't help but examine the ex-handmaiden. She was curious about her every move. The way she would bite her already demolished nails, the way she would flinch, whenever the cell door dared to open, and even the way she would twist a strand of her short, dark hair around her finger, every now and then.

Later, when they were eating dinner, she noticed how Cassandra's hands shook, every time she picked her spoon up, and how hesitant she was to put it in her mouth.

"Is it the taste?"

The younger woman glanced at her but didn't respond. 

Caine sighed, running her fingers through her let down hair. 

"So," she began, trying to spark up a conversation, "what's your deal?" 

"Deal?" Cassandra mumbled, stirring the gruel around, distractedly. Caine didn't fail to notice the tears in her eyes. 

"Yeah, like, why are you here?" She asked, "what did you do? Did you really mess the Princess' laundry up that bad, because I know that Freddy boy is petty, but I didn't think he was that petty!" 

"I don't want to talk about it!" She snapped, turning away, "leave me alone!" 

Lady Caine glared at her, feeling the sudden urge to drag her from that bed and teach her a lesson. No one spoke to her like that, especially not a goody two shoes, little guardsman's brat. 

But then, she stopped. 

A goody two shoes, little guardsman's brat. That's what Cassandra was. She wasn't like her, she wasn't a hardened criminal, she was....a spoilt brat.   
She clearly wasn't used to situations like this, being treated like the crap on the bottom of someone's shoe.   
She grew up in a castle, with a living father, who still loves and cares for her, and had a very respectable job, as the Princess' lady-in-waiting, at one point.   
She hadn't been on her own, on the streets, being arrested and hurt for every little thing she did.   
This was all new to her and probably very scary, too. 

Caine felt a twinge of sympathy, as she heard the girl cry softly into her pillow.   
Her hand was clamped over her mouth, to muffle her sobs and her eyes were squeezed shut, in an attempt to prevent the tears from slipping out of the corners. 

Lady Caine wasn't good at comforting people, so she didn't know what to say, she just hoped that the younger girl would come out the other side of this, in one piece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm sorry it's taken longer than usual, I've been very busy as of recent and also lost some motivation, but I'm all good now! 
> 
> The Freddy Boy name was taken from Commonswift's comments, big shout out to them! 
> 
> New chapter for Varian’s Revenge will be uploaded next!


	18. The Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this chapter has taken so long! I had loads of college projects to complete, before half term, but now, I am free to write!   
> Can I just say, thank you all for getting this story to over 3000 hits?! That's insaine! You're all amazing!

Harold marched into his former office, his face, a beetroot red with frustration.

"You!" He yelled, slamming his fist down onto the desk, "you're responsible for this, I know you are!"

James looked up at him. He was startled, for a moment, but then, his face twisted into a sneer.

"Mr Gonzalez, what a pleasant surprise," he said, leaning back in the red, velvet chair, resting his filthy shoes on the workspace, "what can I do for you?"

"You know, perfectly well, what you can do for me!" The older man growled, "you can find my daughter and bring her back!"

"Why it my fault, your "daugnter" has run away?"

Harold leaned in closer to James, his teeth gritted. "What reasons do I have to believe that it isn't your fault?" He snapped, "you tried to cut out her tounge..."

"Do you know why I did that, Harold?" James interrupted, with a smirk, " because, witches can't cast spells, without their tounges, can they?"

The former captain shook with rage, his blood pumping with ire.

"What did you just say?!" He spat.

"Your "daughter" is a witch, isn't she? That's what everyone else in this place calls her."

"My daughter is not a witch!" Harold bellowed, "how dare you say that about my girl!"

"I'm not saying it about _your_ girl," James leered, "because she isn't _your_ girl, is she?"

"Shut up."

"She's the daughter of the woman who stole the princess, why would you want to be assosiated with that?" James continued. 

"I said, shut up!" 

"You should be thanking me for getting rid of her, saving your reput-" 

Within a second, the desk flipped, sending papers and stationary flying. James jumped out the way, just in time and backed into a corner. 

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, WITH MY DAUGHTER?!" Harold roared, grabbing James by the neck. 

"C-c-calm d-down Mr Gon-Gonzalez!" 

"NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" 

Harold curled his fingers into a fist, and positioned them, in front of James' face. 

"I AM GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE SAID, OR DONE TO CASSANDRA, UNTIL YOU TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!" 

James yelped, as the older man swung for his eye. 

But nothing happened. 

James fell from the man's grip and crumpled to the floor, watching as his attacker was seized by four guards. 

"Get off me!" Harold yelled, his voice slightly hoarse. 

"Mr Gonzalez, you are under arrest for assulting a captain and vandalism of castle property," Ruben said, almost reluctantly.

"No! You didn't hear what he said! He's played a part in Cassandra's disappearence, it's written all over his smug face!" Harold argued, pulling against the men, "when I find out what you've done with her, I will make you pay!"

"That's enough, Mr Gonzalez!" Ruben yelled, as the men hauled him from the room.

The office door slammed shut.

* * *

Lady Caine was wrenched from her thoughts, when the napping Cassandra groaned loudly. Her face was twisted into a frown.

She had been asleep for most of the afternoon, and hadn't made a single sound, until now. 

"No-no-p-please," she muttered, turning over, "st-stop it!" 

Caine stepped back a little, unsure of what to do. Should she wake her up? She didn't want to scare her, it would alret a guard. 

"No! I-I-I'm-n-not-c-c-crazy! Y-y-you have to believe me!" 

Cassandra tossed and turned rapidly, her head smacking back and forth against the pillow, her fringe sticking to her damp forehead. The sudden screeches that followed could make anyone deaf. 

Lady Caine's eyes darted around the room in alarm. 

"Shut up, Cassandra!" She pleaded, "shut up, before we get into trouble!"

Cassandra didn't shut up, instead she just lay there, screaming, mindlessly begging, tears sliding down her cheeks. 

Caine dragged her upright and placed an arm around her shoulders, trying to hold her flailing body as still as possible.

The woman's screams became more frantic. She desprately tried to pull away, to no avial. 

"NO!" She cried, "NO, NO, NO!" 

Caine clamped her hand over her mouth, ignoring Cassandra's squirms of protest. 

"Are you crazy?! What's the matter with you?!" 

"I'M NOT CRAZY!" The younger woman sobbed, under the hand, "PLEASE, I SAW ZHAN TIRI!" 

Lady Caine's brow wrinkled in confusion.

_What was she talking about? Who was Zhan Tiri?_

But before she could say anything, the cell door flew open. 

The guards who entered, yanked Cassandra from Caine's grasp and pinned her down on the freezing floor. 

"I don't know what happened!" Lady Caine yelled, panic evidant in her voice, "I have no idea why she's screaming!" 

The guards ignored her. One of them poised a needle next to Cassandra's exposed neck. 

"I'll give you one chance to calm yourself down," he growled. 

Cassandra thrashed and cried out in the guard's grasp, kicking her bare feet, against the concreate. She couldn't see or hear anything, but they didn't know that. 

Caine looked away, as the needle was plunged into the girl's neck. Her frightened screams sent a chill down her spine. 

The guards watched, with blank expressions, as the drug took effect.

Cassandra's lips sealed, smothering her cries, her struggling ceased and then, her eyelids closed. She lay there, limp. 

"Take her down to the isolation room," the same guard who had injected her, ordered. 

The two other men carried Cassandra from the room, as Lady Caine started in disbelief. 

"The isolation room?!" She spat, "is that really necessary?" 

"Mind your own buisness, scum." 

When the door locked again, Lady Caine was left alone with her thoughts. 

That girl was broken. Something had happened to her. Something awful. There was no doubt about it. 

* * *

When Cassandra woke, she was met by a blurred face. 

"There's no need to be alarmed," a voice echoed in her ears, "you're in safe hands." 

"W-w-what's going on?" She asked, her voice meek and croaky, "where am I?" 

The voice didn't reply, telling her to "shhh", as a pair of hands helped her sit up. 

"Drink this." 

A glass pressed against her lips, and cold water trickled down her raw throat. 

"You're in the barge's isolation room." The voice informed her. 

"I-isolation room?" Cassandra asked, her voice shaking, memories of the trial room, haunting her mind. 

"Do you remember what happened this afternoon?" The voice asked, ignoring her question. 

This afternoon? What had happened that afternoon? 

"N-no. What happ-" 

"Ok." 

Cassandra's mouth opened, but the voice shushed her, again, as the hands, lowered her down. 

"No more questions, from you, you need to rest." 

Cassandra tried, she really did, but with all these voices, buzzing around her, coupled with the fear of the unknown, it was impossible. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone writing something in a file. She silently hoped that it wasn't about her, but she had her doubts. 

"The prisoner is confused, she doesn't remember anything." 

"Keep her here, overnight and keep an eye on her. If it happens again, we will need to take further measures."

Cassandra felt sick. She was so scared. What was going to happen to her? 

She tried to sit herself up, but the hands were back, forcing her to lie back down. 

"Stay down and rest." 

She closed her eyes and rested her head of matted hair, against the pillow. 

She clenched her fists, and swallowed the sobs, clawing at her throat, as a scratchy blanket was drawn over her form. 


	19. Rithermide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the new version of this chapter. It's shorter, but it works better that way, with the next chapter, which I'll be uploading tonight, as well! 😁

"He's done something to my little girl, he admitted it himself!" 

Pete flinched, as the former captain, lurched forward and gripped the bars of his cell, like a gorilla in a cage. 

"I'm sorry, Harold, but we've questioned the captain and he denies your claims."

"But he's a lying rotter! He's lying through his teeth, why are you all so blind?!" 

Pete sighed, unsure of what to say. 

"Oh, I know why, because he's His Majesty's little golden boy! He can do no wrong, apparently!" 

"Mr Gonzalez, please, keep it down." Pete groaned.

Harold snarled, but did as Pete ordered. It wasn't his fault, it was James' fault. He just needed to make everyone see it. 

The overnight stay in the isolation room had been downright awful. 

Cassandra had been locked in, in the dark, all by herself. She couldn't cope and had screamed until her throat and lungs throbbed. 

When the morning light shone through the narrow window, she calmed down, but it wasn't enough to stop the barge medic, who kept telling her to "shhh", from taking "further measures". 

"Now, this won't hurt," he said, almost mockingly, "they're just small pills." 

Cassandra turned her head away, memories of the horrible sleep tonic, flooding back. 

"Please, I don't want-"

The medic chucked and shook his head. 

"It's not about what you want, it's about what you need." 

"I don't need them!" Cassandra argued. 

The medic tutted, as if he was dealing with a small child, rather than an adult woman. 

"You do, my dear. You need them to fix whatever is going on up there." 

"There's nothing going on up there! I'm not crazy!"

The medic sighed, as the woman tucked her knees into her chest, not planning on budging, anytime soon. 

"Fine," he said, "you obviously want to do this the hard way." 

Cassandra's eyes shifted, a little, when he said that, but she refused to move. 

The medic made a gesture towards the guards, who had been assigned to her, and within a moment, one of them had grabbed her by the arms, while the other, pinched her nose closed.

The medic grinned and emptied three pills into his hand and fed them to her, one by one. 

The vile tasting pills, stung Cassandra's tongue and taste buds, causing her to gag and splutter. She started struggling and kicking, trying to twist out of the guard's grip, but he held her firm.

She eventually forced herself to swallow, desperate for air. All her memories of the horrible force-feeding came back and she burst into tears, despite her efforts to blink them back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so everyone knows, Rithermide is not a real drug, I made it up. 
> 
> The pinching the nose closed idea, was inspired by the amazing, Shadows, by PocketProtector, on AO3, btw! ❤️


	20. Safe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been so excited to get this chapter out! This was one of the first I wrote for this story and I’ve been desperate to release it’s final version of so long!!! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Btw, in case you missed my author’s note, I have changed the last chapter, so please go back and read that, if you haven’t already, or else, this will make no sense.

“I’m afraid that there's nothing else I can do for you.” 

Cassandra swallowed, looking up at the man in front of her. Her body was trembling, an after effect of the five, long days of “treatment”, she had been forced to endure. 

“I have tried every medication I can think of, and nothing’s changed. Hopefully the island prison will be able to fix you.” 

“I’ve already told you, I don’t need fixing,” Cassandra muttered, weakly. 

The medic and the guards, who were, holding her wrists in a firm grip, ignored her. 

“We need to go,” one of the guards said, “the barge will be arriving at the prison, this evening.” 

“Of course.” 

Cassandra was hauled out of the room, before she could blink, just catching the medic bidding her a goodbye, before a door slammed. 

The guards took her back to her cell and shoved her inside. 

“We’ll be collecting you two, this evening,” one of them grumbled, “and we will take no resistance. If either of you, even attempt to fight back, you will be servealy punished.”

Caine sneered, as the door closed. 

“I hate those idiots,” she hissed.

Cassandra didn’t say anything, sitting down on her bed and wrapping her arms around herself. 

“You, ok?” Caine asked, “what did they do to you?”

Cassandra shrugged in response. 

“They gave me a lot of...stuff. They said it would “fix me”.” She said.

The older woman crossed one leg over the other. 

“What kind of stuff?” 

“Rithermide, Emperdine, Veramite and Athalean.” Cassandra replied, remembering each name of the vile-tasting medicines, that had been shoved down her throat. How could she forget? 

Caine’s eyes widened. 

“They gave you all that in five days?!” She exclaimed, “are you feeling alright?” 

“I’m a bit shaky, I guess, but I’m fine. Why do you care, anyway?”

Caine stood up from her bed. 

“You know, I may have done bad things and I may really, really, not like you, because you’re a grumpy, spoiled bitch, but I still don’t like what they’ve done to you,” she said, picking dirt from under her nails, “they’re supposed to be the “good guys”, yet they do stuff like that.” 

Cassandra bowed her head and intertwined her fingers. 

“Look,” Caine sighed, “I don’t know what you’ve been through, I don’t know what happened the other night and I’m not great at helping people, so I won’t ask, but I just hope that you get out the other side of this, ok.” 

“Thanks,” Cassandra found herself saying, struggling to meet the other woman’s eyes. 

“You better get some rest,” Caine muttered, changing the subject, “tonight will be tough, for a new girl, like you, trust me.” 

Cassandra nodded, laying down, as Caine marched back to her bed. 

The last thing she saw was the light of a candle, on the opposite side of the bars, before she fell asleep. 

"Get up!" 

Cassandra was shaken from her slumber, by her two guards, who grabbed her under her arms and hoisted her onto her feet.  
Her wrists were shackled behind her back and she was marched out of the cell, still half-asleep. 

The chilly, night air surrounded her as she was dragged out of the boat. She was taken into a large, stone building, with barred windows on nearly, every wall. 

"Move!" A guard bellowed at her, pushing her, hard on the back. 

"Where are you taking me?" Cassandra asked, in a small voice. 

They ignored her, pulling her towards a group of gossiping women. One had dark red lips, one had shimmering, blonde hair, almost like Rapunzel’s had been, but obviously shorter, and the last had dark brown eyes that seemed to stare into your soul. 

They stopped talking, almost immediately and turned around, smirking when they saw Cassandra. 

"So, this is the moonstone girl, hm? The one, Madame told us about?” The blonde one, sniffed. 

The guards nodded in unison. 

“Don’t worry, snowflake,” she continued, “we’ll take good care of you.” 

Before Cassandra had time to react, the women grabbed her and hauled her off down, waving the guard’s away.

Cassandra screamed as a bucket of ice-cold water was chucked over her head, soaking her dark waves.. 

The woman took no notice to her screams, proceeding to attack her sore scalp with a hard bar of soap. 

“I’m surprised,” the blonde one began. .

“Why’s that?” the one with dark lips, replied. 

“That the prisoner, didn’t melt when we chucked the water over her. That’s what witches do, isn’t it?” 

The women howled, amongst themselves, scrubbing Cassandra’s head, even harder.

Cassandra was about to retaliate, when another bucket of freezing moisture was thrown over her. 

Once they were finished, they forced Cassandra into a ragged dress and forbade her to wear shoes. 

"You don't need them. You won't be going outside for quite some time." The dark-eyed one said, with a sneer. 

"Now, this needs to go around your neck." 

Cassandra was presented with a small card tag, on a string. 789 was all that was written on it. 

"That number is your identity, except from insults. They don't bother with your name here, doe eyes, so best hope that you don't forget it." The blonde explained.

Cassandra's toes curled, as her soles met the freezing floor of the dungeon corridor. 

"Oh look, it's the moonwitch!" Someone heckled. 

"Shouldn't you be halfway to the stake by now?!" Someone else shrieked, with a cackle. 

"I'm not a witch." Cassandra growled, under her breath, unsure if she was trying to convince herself, rather than the people around her. 

"Care to repeat that, witch?." The red-lipped women whispered mockingly, 

Cassandra chose not to reply. 

"Not talking, hm?" The brown-eyed one mocked, pulling her hair. 

Cassandra yelped, just missing one of the prisoners calling her something, she’d only ever heard her father use.

Even when she was forced into her cellt the berating didn't stop. In fact, it got worse. 

While they were all chanting slurs and insults at her, the women reached through the bars and began to hurt her, physically. 

Fists yanked at her hair, feet kicked at her sides, and sharp nails clawed at her skin. 

Cassandra did her best to fight back, pushing and shoving against her attackers with all the force she had, but they shoved her back, harder. 

“Witch, witch, witch!” They were all chanting, bombarding Cassandra’s ears. 

The brunette managed to wiggle free from the woman’s grasp, with a lot of a hitting and kicking of her own, and scrambled into a lone corner of her cell, buried her face between her knees and clamped her hands over her ears. 

"Awwww, look, the little witch-girl is crying!" Someone jeered. 

Cassandra didn't even realise that was true, until she felt a warm tear slide down her face. 

"Lets make her cry more!" Someone else yelled. 

Chants echoed all around her, despite her best efforts to block them out. She was terrified, she was shaking all over, and she was weeping excessively. She just wanted it all to...

"STOP!" A loud voice, in an accent she'd never heard before, sounded out, silencing the chants. 

Cassandra, gingerly, took her hands away from her ears, but refused to raise her head, still crying. 

"Get back to work, girls, you should be ashamed of yourselves for starting such a racket!” 

"Sorry, Miss Madeline." The girls mumbled in unison. 

They each gave Cassandra dirty looks as they walked away. 

"As for the rest of you, get back to bed!" 

"Sorry, Miss Madeline." 

Cassandra backed up against the wall, when she saw the source of the voice coming towards her. Was she going to be punished? Did this woman think she was a witch, too? 

“I-I’m not a witch!” she cried, “please, don’t hurt me!” 

"Now, now, don’t be scared, I’m not going to hurt you," the woman said, "come on, come over here." 

Cassandra slowly edged over to the door of her cell and sat down. Her face was a shade of beetroot and tears were still sliding down it. 

The woman was rather old, with rosy cheeks and a kind smile. She was the last person Cassandra expected to see in a place like this. 

“It’s all over, now, you’re safe with me,” she said, gripping Cassandra’s hands through the bars. 

Cassandra closed her eyes and for the first time in a while, she felt safe. 

“The girl has arrived, Madame.” 

“Excellent. Bring her to me, tomorrow morning, I would like to finally meet her.” 

“Certainly.”


	21. Madame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter mentions asylums, reader discretion is advised.

Madeline looked at the young woman in front of her, who was staring at the floor. 

“Your name is Cassandra, isn’t it?” 

The woman nodded, her eyes still glued to the stone. 

“That’s a lovely name. I think it means, helper of man.” 

Cassandra didn’t respond. 

“I’m Madeline, I’m the one who serves all the dinners,” The old woman continued, with a smile.

Madeline noticed that Cassandra wasn’t paying attention, anymore. Her face had crumpled and she was teary, again. 

“Hey, don’t cry,” she whispered, stroking the back of the young woman’s hand, with her thumb, “you know, a long time ago, there was a girl, just like you. She was brought to this place and attacked for what she’d done. She cried, a lot, and didn’t know what was going to happen next.”

Cassandra raised her head, with a blink. 

“But, she never gave up, she kept going, refusing to give up. In the end she got a job, not a brilliant one, but a job nonetheless, which enabled her to move into a cottage and adopt several adorable puppies, throughout the years. Just hold your head up high, sweetie, and you’ll get through this. I promise you.” 

Madeline’s words reminded Cassandra of what Arianna had said to her, all that time ago. She stopped believing in them, after James tried to cut out her tongue, but maybe it was time to give them a second chance. 

There was only one question she had. 

“Why are you being so kind to me?” She asked, “I don’t deserve it.” 

“The way you were being treated sickened me. No one deserves to be treated like that, you were scared to death!” Madeline replied, “if anything like that happens again, let me know, alright?” 

“Alright.” 

There was a small silence, before Madeline stood up. 

“I need to go now, Cassandra. It was lovely to meet you, and I’m sure I’ll see you again, very soon.” 

Madeline beamed, one last time, before starting to walk away. 

“M-Madeline?” Cassandra called, making the woman turn around, “t-thank you.” 

“It’s alright, dear, anytime.” 

When Cassandra woke up the next morning, a gruff voice, of a guard, yelled at her to get up and get ready. 

“Madame wants to see you, so no dawdling!” 

Cassandra’s stomach flipped. Who was this Madame, and what did she want with her? 

The guard dragged the young woman from her cell and proceeded to take her up a large flight of stairs, which led to a pair of dark, double doors.

As soon as the guard knocked on a door, a stern, but silky-smooth voice, sounded out from behind it. 

“Come in.” 

The room Cassandra was brought into, had light red wallpaper, gold skirting boards, a deep scarlett carpet, black, velvet chairs, and an oak desk. 

Sitting at the desk was an uptight, scowling woman, in a long, dark dress. 

“Ah!” She exclaimed, “so, this is the girl who took the moonstone, Gothel, is it?” 

Cassandra almost choked, as her heart skipped a beat. She felt like she had just been punched in the guts. 

“N-no…I’m Cassandra.”

“Oh! Of course, you are! Gothel is your mother!” 

“That woman is no mother of mine!” Cassandra retorted. 

Madame burst out laughing. A cruel, spine-chilling laugh, that bounced off every wall. 

“No mother of yours?! You’re the spitting image!” 

Cassandra felt tears sting the corners of her eyes. She felt so humiliated and hurt. She just wanted the ground to swallow her up. 

“Sit down, 789!” Madame ordered. 

Cassandra eyed the beautiful, soft, cushiony velvet chair, in front of her. She’d give anything to sit on it, to sink into its luxurious, cushiony fabric, close her eyes and forget about her plights. 

Her daydreams were cut short, when she was shoved into a plywood chair, which was hard against her back, and had one leg, shorter than the other three, so it tipped to one side. 

Her arms were bound to the back of the chair, so she couldn’t get away. 

“Now, 789,” Madame began, “I’ve been told that you had some mental treatment, while you were on the barge. Apparently you were given four different medications and none of them were effective, is that correct?” 

Cassandra nodded. 

“Well then, we’ll have to book you regular appointments to our asylum unit.” 

Cassandra’s heart began to thud, and she began to hyperventilate. 

She’d read about asylums before and formed the opinion, that they were cruel and inhumane. The last thing she wanted was to be send to one. 

“N-no!” She spluttered, “anything but that!” 

“You don’t have a say in the matter, 789. We need to do what we think is best for you. To fix you, if you will.” 

If Cassandra heard that “fixing” thing one more time, she was going to punch someone. 

“I don’t need fixing!” She snapped, “I’m not crazy! There’s nothing wrong with me!” 

“I beg to differ.” Madame sneered, “what self-respecting adult is afraid of the dark or starts screaming in the middle of the night about some Zhan Tiri thing? You’re loopy.” 

Cassandra shook her head, lost for words. 

“Now, I’ll book your first session for tomorrow morning, nine O’clock sharp! Don’t be late!” 

Cassandra whimpered, as she was untied and hauled from the chair. 

“Good day, Loopy Moonwitch, it was nice meeting you.” 

The guard pushed Casandra into the hallway and slammed the door, behind them. 

Cassandra spent the rest of the day, curled up, crying into her flimsy pillow.  
The other prisoners heard her and mocked, which made her feel worse. 

That night, she didn’t even notice, Madeline coming up to her cell and staring at her with sympathetic eyes, as she cried herself to sleep, dreading the next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry this chapter was short! I wanted it to be longer, but I’m saving some of what was originally in it, for the next chapter instead. I hope that you enjoyed anyway! 
> 
> Also thank you all so much for 100 kudos!!’ 💕💕💕


	22. The Asylum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning- Mentions of asylums and asylum treatments, reader discression advised. 
> 
> I can't believe I've hit 4000 hits, that's insaine! Thank you all so, so, so, much! xxx
> 
> I also have some big news: I’m getting an original story published on WebNovel! It is called, The Grey Sky and follows the story of a young girl called Ivory and her younger brother, Ethan, who are blissfully unaware of the state of the world around them. I really hope you guys like it! Xx

The water was freezing. It was like ice. 

Cassandra couldn’t scream, the force around her neck was too much, she couldn’t move either, the rope around her wrists, squeezing them tight. She was terrified. 

Finally the nurses yanked her back up, allowing her to take a breather, but they refused to remove the soaking pillowcase from her head. Underneath it, she choked, water dripping from her nose and mouth. 

They told her that the “treatment” would make her “senseless”, which would eventually stop the nightmares. Did she believe it? Not in the slightest. 

They shoved her head back under and held it in place. 

Instinctively, Cassandra began to struggle, kicking her legs out. A sharp pain met her shin, making her gasp. A gush of water traveled into her mouth. She spluttered, hacking and coughing, before they hauled her up, at long last. 

They lay her weak body on a gurney, but they didn’t untie her. They removed the pillowcase, untying the bottom from around her neck, allowing her to breath freely, again. 

A nurse, then dipped a spoon in a pot of grey liquid. 

“Open your mouth,” she ordered, approaching the gurney. 

Cassandra flinched as the metal spoon went in. She grimaced as the medicine landed on her tongue. The taste was similar to the smell of dried-up puke. She spat it out, with a gag. 

The next thing she felt was searing pain in her cheek, as the nurse’s palm flew across it. 

She was dragged from the gurney, by her hair. It was all a blur from there. She was beaten, bruised and scratched, as she screamed and begged. 

It was all too much. She passed out. 

When Cassandra awoke, she was back in her cell. Her body felt like someone had hit her with a speeding carriage, and then let their horse trample all over her. 

She propped herself up on her elbows, and instantly regretted it, as her head started to throb, and the room moved, like a carousel. 

“Hey, crazy girl!” A man in the cell opposite heckled, “did you enjoy yourself in the nuthouse?”

Cassandra groaned, and layed back down. She rolled onto her side and rubbed her sore cheek.  
She shivered, remembering the nurse’s snarl, as she delivered the blow. She was scared. She couldn’t go through all that, every other day, for goodness knew how long. It would be hell. Worse than hell. 

Cassandra gulped down the lump, rising in her throat, and wiped the tears stinging the corners of her eyes. 

Suddenly everything went silent. The prisoners stopped chatting, scheming, amongst themselves and the few guards, stopped marching around, coming to a stand still. 

The sound of high heels clicking, against the floor, met everyone's ears.

“Madame,” one of the guards uttered, “we weren’t expecting you.” 

“I know. I came to speak with 789, is she awake yet?” 

Cassandra froze, her breath catching in her throat. 

“She’s just awoken, Madame.” 

“Good.” 

Madame strolled up to Cassandra’s cell and let herself inside. 

“I heard about your little fiasco, in the asylum, this morning,” she sneered. 

Cassandra stared up at Madame, stroking her battered legs. 

“We’re only trying to help you, the sooner you accept it, the better.” 

“I don’t need help!” Cassandra blurted, clenching her fists, “THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH ME!” 

Madame’s hands shot out and grasped the younger woman around the throat. Cassandra clawed at them, trying to pry them off, but the woman’s grip was too firm.

“Don’t ever speak to me like that, again! Who’s in charge, here?!” 

Cassandra whimpered in pain, as Madame squeezed her neck. 

“I said, who’s in charge?!” She roared. 

“Y-you!” 

“That’s right! I’m in charge! That means, I know best and you need to watch your mouth, or else, I’ll drag you through hell! Understand?!” 

Madame stared into Cassandra’s wide, frightened eyes. Fear meant she had won.  
“Understand?!” She repeated. 

“Y-yes!” Cassandra cried. 

“Good!” 

She dropped her, watching, emotionlessly, as she crumpled on the bed. 

“Your next appointment is bright and early, Wednesday morning, don’t repeat what you did today, otherwise you’ll be severely punished.” 

Cassandra watched as the woman walked away, locking the door behind her. She started hyperventilating, in complete shock. She curled up on her bed, and screamed into her pillow, ignoring the verbal abuse, on the other side of the door.

Evening fell and it was time for Madeline to serve the prisoner’s dinners.

She fussed over Cassandra’s cuts and bruises, putting ointment on each one. Cassandra appreciated the gesture, despite being slightly embarrassed. 

“You poor dear,” the old woman whispered, “I’m so sorry.” 

“I-it’s not your fault. I just wish people would understand that I’m not crazy, I’m just-”

“Scared, lonely, miserable?” Madeline finished, “yeah, I felt the same.” 

Cassandra furrowed her brows in confusion. 

“What do you mean?” 

Madeline smiled. 

“It all started, a long time ago…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The research for this chapter was very hard going. 
> 
> Putting a pillowcase over someone's head and then putting them under water, was an actual thing they did in asylums! I was really disturbed when I found out.


	23. Author’s note

Hey everyone, first of all I just wanted to say a massive thank you for all the support I’ve been receiving for this story, you’re all amazing! 💖

I also wanted to let you all know that, I won’t be updating for a little while. Of course, I’m not going to stop writing this story or any of the others, I just want to focus on my original work for WebNovel at the moment, but I will be uploading again in a week or two. 

Hope you all understand 💕💕💕


	24. The Shock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thank you all for waiting so patiently for this chapter! I really hope it was worth the wait!

1791- 

“Grab it, and let's go!” 

Madeline stared at the glistening necklace in front of her. 

This was her chance. A chance of a better life, a life off the streets, a life without starving and scavenging. But, for whatever reason, something just felt...wrong. 

“What are you waiting for?!” 

The voice of her boyfriend caught her attention. 

“Brian, I-I-” 

“For goodness sake, Mads, just grab the darn thing!” Brian exclaimed, “it’ll change our lives, make them better, don’t you want that, or do you just want to spend the rest of your life as a dirty, unloved, street orphan?!” 

Madeline shook her head, her deep-brown eyes, filled with fear.

“Well go on, then!” 

The young woman took a deep breath, and extended a shaky hand towards the necklace. She closed her eyes and took it from it’s stand. 

The gorgeous, sparkling diamonds felt cold, and fairly heavy against her fingers. 

“Mads!” 

Madeline’s breath caught in her throat, as her arm was grabbed.

Brian began to drag her down the street, as loud voices rang in their ears. 

“Now the bloody guards are after us!” He growled, “this is all your fault! If you had hurried up, we wouldn’t be in this situation!” 

“I know. I-I’m sorry.” 

“That’s not good enough! You know, sometimes, I wonder why I bother with you, why I don’t just abandon you and leave you to fend for yourself!” 

Madeline gulped and squeezed his hand, tighter. 

If he left her, she’d be all alone, again, getting beat up and threatening every night. There would be no one there to protect her.

Brian was her protector, her lifeline, she trusted him, with her life. She had to, in order to survive. 

“Please, please don’t abandon me, I-I’ll do better!” She cried, louder than she intended.

“Shut up, will you, we’ll be spotted!” Brian snapped, dragging her round a corner. 

They continued to run, until Madeline’s chest burned, her lungs screaming for a rest.

“Hide!” Brian instructed, shoving Madeline behind a gathering of wood, “I think they’re still on our tail!” 

Madeline cowered, threading the necklace between her fingers. She kept glancing at Brain, waiting for him to make the next move. 

“Wait here,” he whispered, peering over the wood pile, “I’m going to look around, I think the coast is clear.” 

“Okay.” 

“Give me the necklace,” he said, “just in case they find you here. They won’t have any evidence against you, then.” 

Madeline handed him the finery, and watched, as he snuck away, not daring to come out from her hiding place, until he said so. 

She waited.

And waited. 

And waited. 

“B-Brian?” She whispered. 

No answer. 

“Brain?!” 

Still no answer. 

Madeline began to panic, her heart pounding. 

Where was Brian? Had the guards caught him? Was he alright?  
The young woman felt sick, as she reluctantly, peeked over the logs. 

“Brian?” She tried again. 

Brian was nowhere to be seen, replaced by the scowl of a guard. 

Present day- 

“I was questioned, before they dragged me to the palace and made me stand in front of the king, and confess what I did,” Madeline sighed, “I don’t think I’d ever been so terrified. King Gareth, ordered for me to put on the Prison Barge of the Lost Sea, imminently, so I wouldn’t cause any more trouble.” 

“King Gareth…” Cassandra recited, “that’s King Fredric’s father. You lived in Corona, too?!” 

Madeline smiled, fondly. 

“Oh yes! My parents and I moved there, when I was six. I have some very lovely memories of that town,” she chuckled, “going to the sweet shop…” 

“Uncle Monty’s Sweet Shop!” Cassandra gasped. 

“Is that what it’s called now? It used to be Grandpa Ben’s Sweet Shop, when I was a girl!” 

Cassandra smiled, but her heart ached, when she thought of Monty. She’d been a favourite customer of his, when she was little. He’d call her his “little warrior,” and sneak her free bon bons and lollipops, when her dad wasn’t looking. 

When she was older, he referred to her as his “sweetie” and still gave her free sweets, from time to time. 

She highly doubted that he thought of her as his “little warrior”, or “sweetie”, anymore. 

“My parents died, when I was twelve,” Madeline continued, “I was on my own, from there.” 

“I’m really sorry,” Cassandra replied, “that must’ve been really difficult for you.” 

“It was. But, after seventeen years in prison, getting attacked, barated, even put into the asylum, once or twice, my life started to get better. I was offered a job in this place, which bought me a cottage, and many, many dogs…they helped a lot.” 

Cassandra’s eyes widened, in shock. 

“You’re the girl from that story you told me, when I first came here, aren’t you?!” 

Madeline nodded.

“As I said before, you just need to keep your head up high, be brave, be strong, and you’ll get through this, and come out the other side, just fine.”

Three weeks went by, and while Cassandra’s relationship with Madeline got stronger, her treatments got much, much worse. 

She had been through seven shock therapies, three ice bath therapies and even one isolation therapy.

She had kicked, screamed, cried and begged, throughout each one, especially the isolation. 

She’d been placed in the dark, tied down, unable to see, hear, or speak and left there for two days, straight. It was just like the trial room. 

Hell. 

She had screamed until she lost her voice. 

Madeline had offered her some throat tonic, but she refused to take it. 

She’d spent the next few days either asleep or crying, the darkness being the only thing on her mind. 

It seemed that whenever she felt hope come her way, it was immediately stripped away again, and she wasn’t the only one to notice it, either. 

Madeline had snapped. 

A cottage door swung open, alerting the attention of the dog, curled up on the rug, by the fire. 

“Hello, Dmitry,” his owner said with a chuckle, stroking his fur, “I have a little job for you to do, tomorrow.” 

The German Shepherd looked up, his eyes wide. 

“There’s someone, I want you to meet. I think you might be able to help her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, my boy, Dmitry’s here! I have been waiting so long to put him into this story and now I can! 😁


	25. Dmitry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the formatting looks a bit off in this chapter, I think it’s because I’m on my phone, so I’ll try and fix it on my laptop later! ☺️

_  
“Guess we're all born with parts to play."  
_

Cassandra tucked her knees into her chest, and wrapped her thin quilt around her shoulders.

_  
"Some of us are starts and some are just...in the way..."  
_

She stared blankly, at the wall, in front of her. A tear rolled down her cheek.

_  
"I know I was meant for glory...but that's never what my story brings..."  
_

Her hands shook, from cold or from fear, she wasn't sure.

_  
"And yet, I keep on waiting."  
_

Every time she heard the slightest noise, she jumped, earning amused laughs, from the other prisoners.

_  
“When you have the passion and the drive, you expect your moment, centre-stage to arrive."  
_

She ran her hands through her greasy hair, long overdue a wash and trim, and grit her teeth, holding in a sob.

_  
"I show up with heart a blazing, ready to achieve amazing things..."  
_

"...but I'm left waiting in the wings."

That song. That darned, beautiful melody, that had been ingrained in her head, since her mother gave her that stupid music box, was replaying itself, for the tenth time, that morning.

_"Turn the key, like this,"_ she heard her mother say, _"and every time you hear this tune, you'll think of your dear, sweet mother, and the love I have for you."_

_  
"I love you, mamma!"  
_

So naïve. So trusting.

_  
"That should keep her out of my hair for a while, lousy little pest!"  
_

Gothel's words, still stung, but they weren't wrong. She was lousy. She was a pest. She was the shit on the bottom of someone else's shoe. She always had been.  
Always will be.

She felt another tear slide off her chin, when the sound of panting, caught her attention.

It sounded like a dog. But it couldn't be...could it? 

It was. 

When Cassandra turned, towards her door, she came face to face, with a large, German Shepherd.

She gasped. Was she dreaming? She had to be dreaming, surely! 

She snapped her eyes closed, and then opened them, expecting the dog to disappear. But he didn't.

“H-hey, b-big guy,” she whispered, trying to put her feelings aside for a moment, “w-what are you doing here?” 

She knelt in front of the door and the dog immediately started to sniff her, through it’s bars. 

She giggled, when it licked her face. 

She noticed that the other prisoners were cooing in its wake, but it was totally ignoring them, only focusing it’s attention on her. 

“What’s your name, buddy?” Cassandra asked, gently lifting up his collar tag. 

Dmitry

“Hi, Dmitry.” 

Dmitry licked her again, wagging his tail, frantically, as she stroked his silky fur. 

“Dmitry?! Dmitry come here!” 

Dmitry licked Cassandra one last time, before bounding off. . 

As Cassandra watched him go, she found herself unable to stop smiling. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter was short, but I’m hoping to upload another, longer chapter later tonight or tomorrow! If that ends up not happening, it’ll be uploaded later in the week!


	26. Varian's Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop, double bill! I tried to get this up last night, but just ran out of time, sorry about that! 
> 
> For some reason AO3 isn't letting me use itallics at the moment sooooooo....

“There’s so many things that don’t add up,” Varian sighed, stroking Ruddiger’s head, “why would she run away from a three year sentence, and why wouldn’t she bring Owl or Fidella with her?” 

“I don’t know,” Rapunzel mumbled, pacing back and forth, “it’s so unlike her to escape from punishment, anyway. Cass is the kind of person who will endure anything, go to any lengths, to own up for something she’s done. She wouldn’t run away from justice.” 

“Harold keeps saying that James said something about “getting rid of her,” too,” Eugene interjected, scribbling something down on a piece of paper, “apparently, that’s why he attacked James.”

“Ugh, James,” Varian scoffed, “I guarantee he has something to do with this! You should’ve seen the way he was treating Cass, in the courtroom!”

Eugene, Rapunzel, and Lance all frowned. 

“How was he treating her?” Eugene asked, his voice low, almost like a growl. 

Varian narrowed his eyes. 

“It looked like he was whispering things to her, he kept pulling her back sharply, he kept touching her, in places he shouldn’t have, and at one point, he made her cry. I’ve never seen Cass so upset.” 

“The disgusting creep,” Eugene mumbled, clenching his fists. 

“He used to hurt me, too,” Varian continued, “not in the same way, as Cass, but...it still hurt.”

Rapunzel put a comforting arm around the teenager. 

“I’m so sorry, Varian,” she whispered. 

“I-it’s ok, Rapunzel.” 

Eugene stepped forward and put his hand on his shoulder. 

“What did he used to do, if you don’t mind me asking, of course?” He asked. 

Varian inhaled deeply.

A year and a half ago- 

James seized Varian by the collar and chucked him into his cell. He fell onto his chest, crying out in pain, as his ribs throbbed.

“That didn’t hurt, you’re just attention seeking!” The guard sneered. 

Varian growled, picking himself up, off the dirty floor. 

“What’s that vermin doing in here?” 

Ruddiger scampered under Varian’s bed, as soon as James laid his eyes on him, terrified. 

“Leave him alone!” Varian cried, stepping in front of his friend. 

“Don’t shout at me, you brat!” 

James pushed Varian backwards, before delving under his bed and grabbing the squirming racoon. 

“Let him go!” Varian screamed, grabbing the man’s arm. 

“Get off!” 

Once again, Varian was knocked back, allowing James to slip past and out of the door, Ruddiger still struggling in his arms. 

“When Ruddiger was brought back, a week later, some of his fur was missing, and he kept flinching. He wasn’t the same.” 

Rapunzel, Eugene and Lance all teared up. They weren’t sure what to say. They felt awful. 

“He’s cruel, malicious, and ruthless,” Varian continued, “if he has got something to do with Cass’ disappearance, I won’t be surprised.” 

“But, how do we find out if he has?” Lance asked, with a frown, “I don’t do interrogation!” 

Varian’s eyes widened. He glanced up at his shelf of sierems and potions, and smiled. 

“I think I have an idea,” he announced, “Does Xavier have any mood potion, left?” 

For the next few days, Varian worked tirelessly to recreate the truth serum, while Eugene, Rapunzel, Lance and even Adira made a strategic plan to give it to James and the King. 

“Remind me again, why are you helping to save Cassandra?” Eugene said, looking up at Adira.

Adira sighed. 

“I know that Shorthair and I haven't always seen eye to eye and I know she put me and the rest of the brotherhood under the spell of the mindtrap, but I also know that she wasn’t in complete control, or a bad person. She apologised to me and the rest of the brotherhood, after the attack, and I respect her for that, not many people would have the guts or empathy to do so,” she explained, “also I want to see Creep behind bars,” she added, with a smirk.

Eugene smiled, chuckling a little. 

“So do I.” 

“Son.” 

Varian turned his attention away from his work to see his father, walking into the lab. 

“Hey dad!” He called, with a beam. 

“What are you making?” 

Varian froze. He hadn’t told his dad about the plan, because he knew what would happen, if he did. He still hated Cassandra, and had no sympathy for her. 

“J-just-um-” he stuttered. 

“Varian?” 

Varian gulped, and averted his father’s questioning gaze. 

“Truth serum?” Quirin grumbled, raising an eyebrow, “Varian, what are you doing with this?” 

“N-nothing! It’s nothing!” 

Quirin frowned, and shook his head. 

“Son, you are clearly doing something. You’re acting all...suspicious.” 

“I-I’m n-no…” 

“Varian, just tell me, you’re clearly doing something.” 

Varian sighed, in defeat. He looked down at the floor. 

“Y-you know how C-Cassandra is missing?”

“Yes. Good riddance.” 

Varian decided to ignore that comment. 

“W-well, we’re worried that something bad has happened to her, and we want to find out-”  
“Why do you care?!” Quirin yelled, infuriated, “Varian, have you forgotten that she kidnapped you, hurt your friends, nearly destroyed Corona and mind controlled myself and the brotherhood?! She deserves bad things to happen to her!” 

“Dad, are you forgetting that I kidnapped the queen, hurt my friends,, nearly destroyed Corona and then teamed up with a group of criminals to take it over? And yet you treat me like none of that ever happened!” Varian argued, “Why can’t you give her a second chance, if you gave me one?”

Qurin bit his lip. He sometimes forgot how smart and empathetic his son was. 

“Y-you’re right you’re right. Cassandra did apologise profusely to me. I am going to struggle to forgive her, for a while, but hopefully, I can get past it. I’ll try and give her a second chance,” Quirin said, “now, how about you tell me about your plan, and I’ll see what I can do to help.” 

Varian’s eyes widened, and a small smile spread across his face. 

“Really?” 

“Really.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, Varian is saying all this about Cass and helping her as a FRIEND, nothing else. I hate the ship, so please don't associate me or this story with it, thank you.


	27. The Cough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally going to be called “The Final Blow”, but unfortunately the title just didn’t fit, so I changed it.

It was the third time, they had flipped that switch, and electricity had flowed through her body.

Her screams echoed around the room, coupled with gasping sobs. 

“Stop!” 

The pain stopped, as Cassandra slumped forward on the chair, her body trembling, as tears streamed down her cheeks. 

“How many more tries?” The man at the switch asked. 

“Five.” 

Cassandra shook her aching head and struggled lightly against her restraints. 

“Ready?” 

The switch flipped again and another set of ear-piercing screams flew around the room. 

Then it stopped again. 

Cassandra’s heart was racing by the time they finally untied her. 

“Stand up.” 

The brunette just sat there staring down at her feet, taking deep breaths. 

“I said, stand up!” 

Cassandra tried but failed, her shaking legs unable to support her weight. 

The nurses sighed, before dragging her to the medical bed. Cassandra’s least favourite bed in the world. 

They strapped her to it, paying no attention to her moans and whimpers. 

“Get the Emperdine!” One of them roared. 

“N-n-no!” Cassandra rasped, “p-p-please, n-no!” 

A hand shot out and grasped her by the chin, forcing her head back. Cassandra screamed, as the memories of James, when he tried to cut out her tongue and the guards, when they force-fed her gunk, doing the exact same, haunted her mind. 

A spoon of goopy, red liquid was jammed into her mouth and Cassandra let out a whine of protest, arching her body, and twisting her limbs. 

“Stop struggling and swallow the darn medicine!” 

Her nose was pinched, tightly and she squealed. She reluctantly swallowed, squeezing her eyes shut.

Air flooded into her nose, once again and she flopped down on the bed. 

“You have ten minutes, before your ice bath,” a nurse said, sternly, “and you are not to repeat what you did last time!” 

Last time she’d been placed in the metal tub of raw, biting water, she put up a fight, kicking and screaming, doing whatever she could to get out of it. Her efforts had been in vain, however, and she was beaten. 

Cassandra stared at the grey ceiling, trying to control her seemingly never-ending tremors. She coughed, feeling a slight ache in her chest, as she did so, but thought nothing of it.

When they wheeled her back to her cell, that afternoon, however, she was coughing more frequently. 

“How long have you been coughing?” Madeline asked, sticking her hand through the bars, to feel Cassandra’s temperature. 

“Since, after the shock therapy. My chest aches a little bit, too.” 

Madeline frowned, lowering her hand. 

“You haven’t got a temperature, but I’d keep an eye on it and let me know if it gets any worse, alright?” 

Cassandra nodded, with a sniff. 

“I will.” 

Madeline smiled, before delving into her pocket. She pulled out a light-pink handkerchief and placed it in Cassandra’s palm. 

“You might need it to cough into. Don’t worry, I promise, I haven’t used it!” 

Cassandra giggled, placing the fogle underneath her pillow. 

“Thank you, she said, pausing to cough, “not just for this, but for everything.” 

“It’s alright, dear. Now, you need to get some sleep, if you want to tackle that cough!” 

After Cassandra and Madeline bade each other goodnight, Cassandra tried her best to fall asleep, but just couldn’t. 

Her coughs worsened, as the night went on, and by morning, her chest felt like it was on fire. 

"The witch is sick!" 

"The moon witch has the lurgy!" 

Those were the chants Cassandra could hear, in between her coughs, which were muffled by the hankie. 

"You alright, witch face?" Someone yelled. 

Cassandra rolled onto her side, blinking hard to hold in her tears. She wrapped her arms around her trembling body, feeling colder than ever. 

A string of painful coughs erupted from her throat, causing her to spit up a horrible yellow substance.

Mucus. 

Her insides throbbed as she struggled to catch her breath. She let out a rasped scream of panic, as her tears began to flow free. 

One of her guards entered the cell and knelt down by her bed. 

Cassandra couldn’t help but notice that he looked a bit...broken, inside. 

"What's up with you?" He growled, trying to sound intimidating. 

Cassandra described her symptoms, wincing with every word. 

"Right, ok. I’ll get Madame.” 

Cassandra groaned. Madame was the last person she wanted to see, and apparently vice versa. 

"Pretending to be sick, to get out of your asylum treatments, hm?!” She asked, ripping the blanket away from her prisoner’s form. 

"No-no-there's something wrong-with me!” 

Madame sighed, slapping her hand down on Cassandra's forehead and instantly pulling it away. 

"You’re fine!" She lied, ignoring Cassandra's hacking coughs, “you're just making it all up!"

“N-no I-I’m not! P-please, you have t-t-to help me!” 

Cassandra’s shouts were ignored, as Madame left the enclosure, slamming the door behind her, after scolding one of the guards for “wasting her time”. 

She burst into tears when they left. She couldn't stop it, despite how much she wanted to. The other prisoners were laughing at her, calling her all the names under the sun, as she continued to gag and cough.

She was forced to go to the asylum, and endure her inhumane treatments. She was too weak to fight back, or scream in protest, so she just cried, until they were done. 

When she returned, Dmitry came, but she was hesitant to touch him, just in case she gave whatever she had to him. 

He kept whining in concern every time she coughed or brought up phlegm. She gave him reassuring smiles, which were then interrupted by a sudden shooting pain in her chest, or a violent tremor. 

He growled and barked, whenever another prisoner would make a snide remark, standing protectively in front of Cassandra’s cell. 

Once he had gone, though, the other prisoners were free to taunt and harass her, until evening fell. 

"Alright, that's enough!" 

Cassandra's ears pricked up as a familiar voice boomed from the end of the twisting corridor. 

"Sorry, Miss Madeline!" The chorus of voices mumbled. 

The brunette couldn't stop herself from crying in relief, hoping she could get some help from the woman. 

Madeline delivered everyone else’s food, before delivering Cassandra’s as she always did, but when she walked into her cell, she knew something wasn’t right. 

"Are you okay, honey?” 

Cassandra tried to reply, but found that she was becoming breathless. 

Madeline placed a hand on her forehead and choked. 

"Get help!” She cried, to the guard. 

"But, Miss, Madame, says that the girl is fine, and that she's just pretending..." 

Madeline's cheeks went red, and her eyebrows narrowed. 

"No! She needs medical attention, right now! She’s burning up!” 

The guard rolled his eyes and slunk off, while Madeline tried to make Cassandra more comfortable. 

“I need you to sit up a little,” she said. 

Cassandra complied, forcing her weak body into a sitting position. 

“Don’t worry, you’re going to be just fine.” 

Cassandra hoped that was true. 

But she seriously doubted it.


	28. Mr Trellis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before this chapter begins, I just wanted to thank you all for over 5k views! That's insane! 🥳🥳🥳

Madeline checked her watch, again. 

Cassandra had been in the infirmary for just over an hour. Madeline could hear her desperate cries from the other side of the wall. 

The urge to jump up, run in and comfort her, grew stronger and stronger, but despite how much she'd argued with the medical staff, they refused to let her in. 

"D-dad!" 

Madeline's heart shattered. The woman was begging for her father, who she hadn't seen or heard from, in months. 

"Dad!" Cassandra howled again, before a medic told her to "calm down". 

The door opened, and Madeline turned to see a nurse, staring at a clipboard. 

"Can't you let me in, for just ten minutes? She's terrified!" 

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," the nurse replied, tapping a pencil against the clipboard, "but we've already told you, that only a relative of the prisoner can be in with them, during the testing." 

Madeline sighed. 

"Alright, just tell her that I'm right outside, and give her some comfort. She needs it." 

The nurse merely nodded, before strolling in the opposite direction. 

Cassandra's world was a blur of pain and fear. Her chest was throbbing, her head was spinning, she was coughing up so much gunk, she'd made herself sick, and she was boiling, despite her violent tremors telling her otherwise. 

"DAD!" She screamed for the hundredth time, squeezing the balled up, handkerchief in her pocket. 

"We've already told you, 789, your father isn't here, now would you please stay still?!" A medic, who Cassandra had learnt was called, "Dr Michel Trunt", yelled, "you're making our job really hard!" 

Cassandra couldn't stay still. She kept shifting around on the bed, uncomfortably, continuously kicking the blanket away, only to have someone pull it back over her, again. 

"Doris!" Dr Trunt, called out, "pass me that rag and that bucket of water!"

Cassandra whimpered and flinched as Dr Trunt, moved her hair back, ready for a wet cloth to be placed on her forehead, a moment later. 

What seemed like torturous hours of screaming, crying, begging, coughing and puking, went by, for Cassandra, before the medics finally came up with a diagnosis. 

"789, we are sorry to inform you that you have Chronic Bronchitis," Dr Trunt said, "we'll need to keep you hydrated, fed and well rested. We will also need to give you a lot of medicine. I don't want any fussing from you, do you understand?" 

Cassandra nodded, slowly. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. Why did she have to have this, on top of everything she was already going through?

At that moment, she couldn't do anything, but bury her face in her hands and cry in frustration, causing her to launch into a coughing fit. 

"Don't start with the waterworks, young lady!" Dr Trunt scolded, "you need to grow up and learn to take things on the chin! Now, it's getting late, and you need to rest." 

Cassandra turned towards the tiny window, beside her bed. The sky was pitch black and the stars were bright. Dr Trunt was right, it was late. 

"She has Chronic Bronchitis." 

Madeline stood up and frowned at the nurse. 

"N-no! Oh, that poor girl! Please, let me see her!" 

"No, Ma'am, she's resting and we don't want her to be disturbed. Please go home and come back tomorrow." 

Madeline clenched her fists to her sides, and sighed between gritted teeth. 

"Fine. Let her know that I'll be seeing her tomorrow, and please keep her safe." 

"Of course, Ma'am," the nurse replied, "that is our job, after all." 

It took a while for Cassandra to get to sleep, and once she finally did, she wasn't expecting to be gently shaken awake, a few minutes after. 

"789," a voice whispered, "you need to get up."

Cassandra wheezed, before turning onto her side, coming face to face with Madame. As if her day couldn't get any worse. 

"M-Madame? Is there something wrong?" 

"Get up," the woman replied, "now!" 

"But, I can't! I'm sick, I have bronchitis!" 

Madame sighed and grabbed Cassandra's arm. 

"The medical staff know about me doing this, so move, before I make you move!" She hissed. 

Cassandra forced herself onto her shaky legs, who instantly protested, as she tried to walk. 

She let out a cry of alarm, as she toppled sideways, only to be caught by Madame's boney arms. 

"Careful, loopy," Madame murmured. 

She gripped onto her shoulders, earning a gasp and a flinch, from Cassandra, before steering her out of the room.

Cassandra was taken up the large staircase that led to Madame's office, and practically pushed into the room. 

"Sit," Madame instructed, pointing to the same rickety chair, Cassandra had sat on, when she was first brought to the prison. It was like some kind of horrible, twisted dejavu. 

Cassandra threaded the cardboard label, dangling around her neck, between her fingers, as she watched Madame with anxious eyes. 

"As of tonight, you will no longer be known as 789," the woman explained, "you will no longer sleep in your cell and you will no longer attend your treatment sessions." 

Cassandra was confused. Was she being released or...oh no. 

"Y-you're not, executing me," Cassandra squeaked, "a-are you?" 

Madame laughed at the girl's fearful expression. 

"Heavens no! I am letting you go," she smiled. 

"Y-you are?!" Cassandra spluttered, in between several coughs that stung her chest, like a fleet of wasps. 

"Yes," Madame replied, "I am letting you go, right into the hands of Mr Trellis." 

Cassandra froze, excited thoughts of seeing her friends, family and pets again, suddenly fading.  
"Mr Trellis deals with unruly freaks, like yourself. He'll sell you to whoever bids highest to have you as their scullery maid."

Cassandra's heart dropped to her stomach. 

"No!" She screamed, sounding more pathetic than she'd intended, "no, I'm not doing this" 

Her throat went dry and coughs interrupted her, again, allowing Madame to seize hold of her hair. 

"You don't have a choice!" She growled, "if you refuse, I will execute you, and I will ensure that not even your father knows of your death, are we clear?!" 

Cassandra didn't have time to respond, before a blunt force met the back of her head, and she fell forward, in a daze. 

When Cassandra woke up, she was tied up, with a piece of cloth between her teeth. The ache in her chest, now coupled with one in her head, was more prominent than ever. 

"Ah, she's awake!" 

Two pairs of footsteps marched in her direction, and stopped, right beside her. 

"Loopy, this is Mr Trellis."

Mr Trellis was a filthy, middle-aged man, dressed in a bleached shirt, a torn waistcoat and muddy trousers. 

Cassandra's poor heart was thumping as the man came closer, with one hand outstretched to touch her face, 

"Will she do?" Madame asked, hope, evident her voice. 

"She's a beauty. She'll go for a hefty price, indeed." 

Cassandra began begging, behind her gag, shaking her head, wildly. 

"I'm sorry, Moonwitch, but the King and I made a bargain, and I would never betray a monarch, unlike you." 

Mr Trellis knelt by Cassandra and sneered. 

"Now, I don't want any screaming or tears, just do exactly as I say and I'll be gentle with you."  
Cassandra struggled, as the man picked her up, flailing about as much as her weak body could handle. She squirmed as she was flung over the man's shoulder, and carried away. 

"Goodbye, Gothel," was the last thing she heard Madame say, before the doors slammed and she was carried back down the flight of stairs. 

A while later, she was placed on the deck of a ship, surrounded by strange, drunken men, who kept calling her pretty. They paid no attention to her tears, her coughs, her whines, anything. 

As the bitter wind blew through her hair, dread settled in her stomach. She was either going to die a slow, painful death from her illness, or she was going to become an indentured scullery maid, for some posh snob, who would treat her terribly. 

She couldn't decide which one sounded worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea for selling poor Cass came from the marvellous book: So This Is Love: A Twisted Tale, by Elizabeth Lim, which I highly recommend, if you like dark fantasy/fairytale novels.


	29. The Attic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW- Violence and abusive behaviour. 
> 
> I'm so sorry for the wait for this chapter, it's been a month! There's been a lot of things happening recently, such as getting my Covid jab, having a hand injury that prevented me from typing for a few days, and then getting complete an utter writers block and feeling depressed, once my hand had healed 😑😑. I'm ok now, and thanks to my amazing friends, (Jess I'm looking at you!), I feel so much better! 🤗

The boat pulled into the docks of a small island, as the sun was beginning to rise. 

Cassandra hadn't slept a wink, being far to terrified, instead she kept a close eye on the men around her, watching as they marched back and forth, chugging drink from their goblets, occasionally reaching down to touch her face or stroke her hair, which would be met with flinches and screams of protest. She wished she could gnaw off their hands. 

Mr Trellis remained close, the entire journey, watching her with his beady eyes. He laughed when tears slid down her cheeks, and he kicked her when she struggled. She hated the disgusting weasel and felt awful for any girl who had been kidnapped by him, before her. 

Cassandra whimpered as the man picked her up, and felt more tears brim in the corners of her eyes, as he walked off the boat, and tied her to a horse that was waiting by the docks.

No one seemed to notice nor care. 

Mr Trellis rode the horse to a crumbling, grimy building. All the windows were either smashed or blacked-out, and the front door had paint and plaster peeling from it. 

Cassandra instantly tried to escape, once he untied her, but her weak body worked against her. She became dizzy, and her legs struggled to support her weight, as she attempted to run.

Mr Trellis was able to seize his prisoner by the arm and easily drag her back towards the building, while she screamed, coughed and cried. 

Her captor led her into a dusty living room, with torn sofas, a coffee table with three legs, and countless bottles of beer just lying on the floor. 

Cassandra has never seen such a disgusting place. It even smelt weird, like someone had spilt something really vile and hadn't bothered to clean it up. 

"Move!" She heard, as Mr Trellis gave her arm a hard yank, causing her to nearly trip and fall. 

She was dragged towards a ladder that led up to a small hatch on the ceiling. 

"I guess I'll have to carry you, can't have you attempting another one of your little escapes, now can we?" 

He immediately threw her back over his shoulder and began to climb. 

The climb was agonising to Cassandra, as she was forced to look down, as her head made the world around her, spin dramatically. She held in serval screams, as her brain tricked her into thinking that she was going to plummet to the ground at any given moment. 

Once Mr Trellis practically threw her onto the attic floor, he then proceeded to back her into a corner. 

"If you dare try and escape, call for help, or send secret messages to any little friends, I will rip you apart with my bare hands, and once I'm done, you won't be a pretty girl, anymore!" He snarled.

A year or so ago, Cassandra would've laughed and rolled her eyes at that threat, before punching the guy in the jaw, but now she was dead silent, her eyes were wide and petrified and her arms were pinned to her sides. 

What made it even worse, was that the man was clearly loving every second of her terror, she could tell by his cruel, devilish smile. 

"Now, I'll leave you to explore your new bedroom," Mr Tellis chuckled, "don't get too comfortable, now, you won't be staying long."

Before, Cassandra could reply, the hatch slammed shut and she was left alone. 

"D-daddy..." she whimpered, "I need you. I need you, daddy."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, more coming soon. 
> 
> Just to clarify, this is not in any way a story where Cassandra’s actions are excused or were Varian’s are undermined. 
> 
> This is a story about how instead of helping or forgiving his prisoners, who have redeemed themselves and are doing everything in their powers to own up for their actions, Fredric traps them both in unsafe situations and lies to their faces.


End file.
